Jealousy
by chichirichick
Summary: Jealousy can evolve, especially as a relationship moves forward. Soul and Maka are no different as they share that feeling among many others. Will their love survive it and all of the other tribulations of life?
1. The Party

I know, I know, I didn't even finish the other Soul Eater fic, but I got a new idea so here it is. Please enjoy. I'm not really sure whether or not this will evolve into a more explicit fic, but the rating may change. So far, it's just fluff and filler.

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"You'll enjoy it once you get there," Maka pulled at Soul's sleeve, getting him to finally turn down the walkway to Kid's door. Those words were actually for both of them since Maka had an itching feeling that she wasn't exactly going to enjoy the rambunctious antics.

Teens are apt to party and while DWMA is far from the norm in classroom material, its student body still adhered to this basic principle. Liz and Pattie had graciously volunteered Kid's house, and Kid's food and Kid's drinks to serve as congratulations for the next cohort moving up to three-star rank. All that was left was for Soul and Maka to actually arrive, but that was slow going, Soul still dragging his heels.

There was no way for things to inch along at the same pace as soon as they walked through the door. As if they'd be lying in wait, Liz and Pattie grabbed their new guests, dragging them through the throngs of students to the drink station. While they weren't exactly the drinking age, Maka now 17 and Soul 18, it didn't seem to matter to any involved, and it seemed as if peer pressure was running rampant - not a hand in the room lacked a drink. Maka took a swig, finding its juicy fruitiness easily hiding the alcohol flavor in a way that made her want to take another gulp. Soul seemed not to feel the same, his nose wrinkling a little at the saccharine concoction.

"Take it easy," Soul motioned at her cup.

But taking it easy wasn't supposed to be in Maka's playbook tonight. She had been told to let go, as per Liz's orders. And boy was Liz trying to make sure she followed through. Once Maka's cup seemed to even get halfway empty, it was full again courtesy of the tall blond. Even though Liz had insisted it would help Maka loosen up, there was really nothing that Maka liked about this feeling, the out of control slowness of it all tearing at her nerves. She pushed herself back to the wall, connecting with a body instead of the comfort of the cool paper.

"I told you to take it easy," Soul grumbled, snatching the cup from her hand. "No more. Go get water. And if Liz hands you another one you come here and pour it in my cup."

To her own surprise, Maka relaxed against Soul for a second, taking a breath to feel grounded. "I will. Thank you, Soul." She turned her head to smile at him and found his face only an inch from hers, her cheeks suddenly flushing from more than the alcohol.

Soul's mouth moved without being able to formulate words. That old movie sparked back up in his mind, that one where he broke down that final partition in his heart and actually told Maka even a tidbit of the thoughts in his mind. "Go get water," he whispered huskily as he moved his face towards her ear, avoiding the sight of her lips shiny with the sweetness from the drink.

"Yes, sir," Maka chimed, her heart jumping at his breath against her ear. Maka did as she was told, taking her time with glasses of water and dumping any liquor that came her way into Soul's cup. It didn't exactly seem fair since at her count Soul was at between four and five cups, but he never put his hand over or told her otherwise. Soul simple stayed at his spot on the wall, trying to blend in with the wallpaper. She was finally started to feel out of the woods, like the normal Maka, so she made her way back to Soul, this time with extra water for him.

"Yo." Soul happily took the water.

Embracing Liz's edict, Maka tried to force the words from her mouth. "Hey, Soul, would you, um, do you want to dance?"

But he wasn't looking at her anymore, he was looking beyond her at the dancefloor behind them. Maka followed his eyes and fell on Kid and Pattie who were, without much a care about their surroundings, kissing through the slow song playing. She looked away, back to Soul, seeing his jaw set hard. "I need some air." Soul quickly disappeared from the living room, leaving Maka with only her unanswered question which just seemed to birth new ones. Why had he looked at the two of them like that? And what kind of anger washed over him at that moment?

Soul pushed his way through bodies, trying to keep his head low as he knocked shoulders. One, he was as drunk as he'd ever been in his life, acting like some idiot gentleman by keeping Maka from getting wasted. Two, those idiots out on the dancefloor looked like they were having the best time in the world, just rubbing it in his face. And three, he was pretty fucking damn sure that Maka had just asked him to dance but those stupid emotions had already thrown him into a tailspin and made his mind scream until he was out of the sight of all that. Suddenly the tears choked him, welling from his eyes at a pace he hadn't experienced since he was a kid.

One of those shoulders put up a fight, pushing him back. "Yo, bro!"

Oh, no, no, no, it was not the right time for Black Star, but there he was. Soul managed to roll his shoulder out of Black Star's grasp and made a quick turn to the external doors leading out to the patio. The cool air felt like it shrunk his lungs and he struggled for air through his tears. He threw himself on the bench, grasping his head in his hands.

To escape the moment, Maka went upstairs, searching for a pocket of silence. Maka walked out onto the balcony, the quiet and drop in air temperature almost instantly easing her anxiety. But it wasn't totally quiet, the soft sound of someone trying to hold back gulping sobs brought her to the edge, looking down into the courtyard.

"Are you _crying_?" Black Star had leaned over, putting his face right next to Soul's.

"Shut up, man," but he was, blubbering, his words riddled with sniffles.

"You're drunk, too, aren't you?" He jostled Soul's shoulder, watching as Soul barely caught himself, almost falling off the bench.

"I'm fine!" It came out as a half-sob, half-complaint.

"Yeah, crying on the patio is totally your norm." Black Star sat next to him, slinging an arm around his neck. "Come on, Soul, it's a party. Pull yourself together."

"Did you see them in there? On the dancefloor?" Soul turned his face to Black Star, the tears adding another layer of red to his eyes.

"You mean Pattie and Kid? Yeah," he shrugged. "I always thought he'd go for Liz, but Pattie's OK."

"Just, how is that fair?"

"Fair? You're not making sense, man."

"How does she get to be with him like that?" A fresh batch of tears started in Soul's eyes, cutting off any more complaint for the moment.

"What, you mean how did Pattie get a date? She's hot-" Black Star noticed the increase in sobs and cut himself off. "But what does that have to do with you?"

"I'm just… I'm fucking lonely. The way he touches her…" Soul pressed his palms into his eyes, trying to will the tears back, but the alcohol was making it hard to keep anything in.

"What about Maka, though? You two always had that vibe."

Maka clutched her arm, pinching at the flesh, trying to wake herself up and get herself moving back into the room. It was a question she really didn't want to be answered.

"Maka." Soul slipped her name out between sobs.

Maka hated it, the unanswered question, the tone of her name from his mouth that seemed indecipherable.

Black Star sighed, "I'm gonna find Maka, she should take you home." He stood up but Soul grabbed him, shaking his head.

"No, come on, I don't want Maka to see me like this."

"Too late," Black Star pointed up to the balcony.

Maka tried to duck but it was really no use. She slowly leaned over the edge. "Uh, hey…"

"You need to come down here and take him home." Black Star hitched a finger back at Soul.

He looked up at her and Maka was sure her heart would break for him. "Maka…"

There was just her stupid name again and she found her lip trembling despite herself. "Yeah, I'll come right down." But her legs felt like they were drowning in quicksand and it took her a few moments to turn, to will herself to navigate through the room to the hallway and down the stairs. It felt like the last of her strength went into opening the door to the patio, the sound catapulting Soul onto unsteady feet.

"Straight home," Black Star poked at Soul, maneuvering him towards Maka.

"And water," she added as she took Soul's hand. "Come on."

"Yeah." Soul couldn't stop himself and squeezed her hand before pulling his back as his heart started to pound.

She had hoped he would just take the hand, especially since the walk through the house seemed as easy as wrangling cats with Soul bobbing and weaving as he walked. As they finally made it to the sidewalk, Maka stopped short, feeling Soul stumble into her back. "You can't make it home like this."

"I'm fine." There was still a residue of tears in his voice and he tried to clear his throat.

"This is going to sound ridiculous, but why don't I give you a piggyback?" Maka turned, her smile catching him off guard.

Just looking in her face made him want to cry again, that brightness, that warmth. He had to say no, he had to make up some kind of excuse. "I'm too big," he replied weakly. Partially the truth, but just barely. He had a good two inches on her now, but with the way she trained it probably meant nothing.

"I'm sure I can do it." Maka knew she looked almost comical when she turned her back to him, crouching a little so he could easily get on her back if he tried.

Soul tried to hold himself back but touching her was all his body wanted, and his drunk mind was more than happy to defer. There was a little "oomph" as Soul stumbled onto her back, but Maka lifted him without any other issue, starting even but slower steps in the direction of their apartment. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders, evoking all the self-control in every last cell of his body to stop himself from sinking his face into her hair. Soul tried to force himself to watch the road, face forward, but the bobbing of his head was starting to make his stomach roll and the last thing he wanted was to cover Maka in vomit.

"You OK?"

"Yeah," he mumbled, finally just closing his eyes and pressing his face into his own arm.

That was the only thing Maka could think to ask, or really wanted to ask just yet. Sure, she had tons of questions. Why had he been that way at the party? Why was he crying on the patio? Was he in love with Pattie? That last one hit the hardest, how he had seemed so upset that Pattie could be with Kid. Those words fell into repeat, the question seeming to pop into her mind again with every step. By the time she got him to the stairs, something she was not going to navigate with him on her back, it was Maka who was nearly in tears.

Maka got his arm around her neck and started the work of keeping him steady on the stairs. She had always kept out of it. He'd always stayed single, she'd always stayed single, so those stupid little feelings never needed to be assessed, she could let them stay stuck, compartmentalized, hidden. But, duh, reality check, Soul had feelings, too, and apparently, they were for Pattie. They finally reached the apartment, Maka letting them in and depositing Soul on the couch.

"Thanks." Soul's head rolled back, his eyes closing again.

"Stay awake!" Maka chided before running into the kitchen, pouring a tall glass of water. She brought the drink back to him, forcing herself to sit next to him on the couch rather than run for the safety of her room.

Soul grabbed the glass, bringing it to his lips and tilting it back.

"Soul…"

"Don't ask, Maka," Soul groaned, placing the drained glass on the floor next to his feet.

"You were crying." Against her better judgment, Maka reached out, her fingers just caressing the side of his cheek.

It felt like heaven, but his stomach definitely didn't. No one ever taught Soul that chugging water is the best way to get yourself to throw up, but his stomach was definitely telling him now. Soul shot from the couch, making a stumbling dash to the bathroom. He blessed every diety in the world as he just made the toilet, his hurl echoing in the bowl. Maka wasn't that far behind him, initially chasing so he couldn't get away from the moment but then continuing when she realized he really had no choice. There was no hair to hold back, Soul's headband did that well enough, but she caressed his back softly, turning her face away every time he wretched.

His fingers trembled and fumbled for the flush as he braced himself against the sink cabinet. Maka flipped the lid closed just as he hit the handle, making sure neither of them could really take a good look at the liquid. "I'm sorry."

"No, it's no big deal." Maka reached down for him, bracing to pull Soul to his feet. "I think… why don't you brush your teeth? I'll get you a little more water."

He accepted the help, slipping his hands away from hers as soon as he was standing. He turned and clutched the sink as Maka left. "Fuck," he muttered, but his reflection only offered the sadness already obvious on his face. As he pushed his toothbrush into his mouth, rinsing out the sour taste and replacing it with a minty freshness that didn't exactly abate his nausea, his mind kept churning. He should tell her, just tell her what she wants to know, but _fuck_ was he chicken shit. And babying him through this drunken night didn't mean he was more than a friend in her eyes. She's always like this, always nice, always caring and he could be just another idiot off the street and she'd still rub his back while he was puking. Forget it.

"Hey, slow this time, OK? Little sips." She put the water next to him on the counter, biting her lip as he avoided making eye contact in the mirror. "Maybe we should stay up a little longer? I'll keep you company while you drink some more water before bed."

He spat the foamy white cloud into the sink. "Just go to bed, Maka. Don't worry about me."

She tried to catch his eyes again but no luck, his focus stayed on the sink. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, go to bed." He gave a weak smile but wouldn't even look to see her reaction. He wanted to go back to the piggyback ride, to put his face in her hair and whisper in her ear that it was all about her, it was always about her, but he didn't have the confidence to do it then and he definitely didn't have it now.

"Alright…" Her feet wouldn't budge. She'd never seen a smile so fake from him, especially just between the two of them. Something would shatter forever if she didn't act, but nothing seemed plausible. Finally, Maka reached out her hand, slipping it over his on the edge of the sink. "I want you to talk to me, Soul. I want to help you."

That burn rose in his throat, not for vomit, but for the tears he was choking back. "I know." He had no choice but to look at her now, catching the reflection of those green orbs in the mirror. "Maybe… maybe tomorrow, Maka."

"Yeah, tomorrow," the enthusiasm into her voice was a strain. She took one last moment to squeeze his hand before launching herself from the room, pushing herself as quickly as she could to her bedroom. The door slammed behind her, but she barely reacted, throwing herself on the bed instead. The what-ifs started to clutter her mind. What if she had drunk her own drinks? What if she had just told him right then that she wished he would cry over her like he did Pattie? She couldn't clear them and found her own tears starting to drip into the fabric of her pillow.

Soul's fist hovered in front of Maka's door. It didn't help that he could hear her choke on a sob. Why, why, why was she crying? He just didn't have the guts to find out.


	2. The Question and Answer

Part 2 is here, and still just some cute fluff. I think this one will be a slow build-up, so enjoy!

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As the sun shone through the cracks in his curtains, all Soul could do was wish for death. He had stayed up a little longer, drinking water, agonizing in front of Maka's door until the sound of her crying tapered off into sleep, but it hadn't been enough to undo what that overly sweet slurry had done to him. Also, if he remembered correctly, he had said he'd actually talk to her today. About _what_ though, because last time he checked he was still a colossal coward who cried about girls on patios instead of taking them up on dancing. There was not a way he could be more uncool.

The door clicked and Maka's blond hair cascaded across the frame as she peeked her head in. He'd never tell her, but that's how he liked her hair best, loose and drifting, easy to run your fingers through. And just like that, he had to stuff his face into the pillow to hide the burning on his cheeks. "Hey," she whispered, pushing a little further into the room. There was a moment of hesitation, waiting for Soul to tell her to get lost, but as he remained quiet she moved to his bedside, putting the water and toast on his bedstand.

"Hey," Soul turned his head just enough to be heard, letting his one eye scan over her too bright morning face.

Maka took a deep breath and then let herself sink to sit next to him on the bed. "I brought you some more water and plain toast. I was guessing you weren't feeling so great today."

"Definitely." _She was sitting on his bed_. It was almost paralyzing, but he tried to sit up, maybe get himself closer to her. His head tried to refuse, and he only got himself halfway there, awkwardly propped up on his elbow against the headboard.

Maka put a soft hand on his arm, "You should just relax."

Yeah, this whole moment was really relaxing: her hand burning against his skin, leaning next to him on his own bed. Totally relaxing. Soul held his breath and moved his hands to hers, wrapping around it. "Thanks for everything, Maka."

"Oh, yeah, of course," she tried not to let her voice go up another octave but that hand in hers made her throat feel tight. "Really, I should thank you, you're just sick because you were helping me."

"Protecting you is what I'm best at." Soul found himself unable to stop his grin as she seemed to fluster more at his comment, a little spark of confidence starting to take hold. "Gotta say, though, I definitely got my ass kicked."

"Yeah," Maka finally laughed, breaking some of the tension she felt. He was still Soul, still the one who could always make her laugh, whatever happened last night didn't change that. "You kept it together, though."

"Ugh, don't lie to me," Soul rolled his eyes, even though that added another pounding sensation in his head. "Crying like a five-year-old isn't keeping it together."

"You remember?" She'd heard of people getting so drunk that the night is a blur, and she had assumed that was Soul's category.

"Unfortunately." But not the piggyback, not that hand on his face, not the rubbing his back - those weren't unfortunate, but everything else he'd prefer to flush.

"I meant what I said, Soul, that if you need to talk…" Her heart couldn't take looking him in the eyes anymore, threatening to burst if she saw _anything _developing in his face.

"This isn't easy," his whisper is almost just to himself and no truer words were ever spoken. That second's worth of confidence was straining, and he couldn't believe how easy it was to go from joking with her to clamming up out of fear. "I guess… I guess I'm jealous," the last word choked him and he reached for the water for a reprieve, both from the tightening and the promise of speaking more.

"Jealous…?"

Every inch of him was begging _don't make me say it._ "Yeah," the word stumbled dumbly from his lips. His mind could scream for him to say more but the words stopped at his teeth. He needed her partnership in a different way, to finish what he was thinking, what he was saying, to take that job away from him.

Maka waited, but there didn't seem to be any more that he was willing to let go. But that was the worst part, that on and off switch pushing them both back into silence. She pulled her hand away, almost instantly missing the sensation. "I'm going to get you some aspirin." Not waiting for the reply, Maka rushed from the bed to the door and into the hallway.

"Fuck." He drained the rest of the water and slammed the glass back to the table, feeling it reverberate dangerously in his hand. That went… as well as he could expect if he wasn't going to open his mouth. But, baby steps, right? As the disgust washed over him he slunk from the bed, scraping his pants from last night off the floor and slipping them over his boxers. He had to get out if anything just to hide from the idiocy he committed every time he seemed to open his mouth with her now.

They collided at the doorway, his arm instinctively wrapping around her to steady them both. "You're going?"

"I need some air." The _deja vu_ hit them both, killing all comfort in the closeness. Soul spun her, getting himself out of the doorway. "I'll see you later."

"Wait." Maka grasped his hand, using her other to push the aspirin into his palm. "Take water with you, too."

Soul nodded, trying not to allow himself to get overwhelmed with her care. He detached from her, throwing the aspirin in his mouth, a little punishment coming from dry swallowing the bitter pills. He only made a detour to the kitchen to grab two water bottles out of the fridge before crashing through the front door. As if he wasn't feeling it enough before, regret burned into his eyes with the first touch of the sun, but he sighed and pushed forward, convinced that the punishment was justified.

It was an arduous journey, Soul's head practically split in two by the time he reached his trusty bench at the park. It was the only place he could think of that was quiet to kill time, knowing that this place was usually populated by the geriatric kind that appreciated a good hour of silence better than anyone else. Soul was sure it would be the perfect place to stew and suffer over his latest fuck up. As he finally let his wobbly legs dump him in the seat, he opened one of the water bottles, careful to sip it just enough to get the cotton out of his mouth.

He pulled his headband down over his eyes, relieving some of the sun's rays, and put his elbow up on the back of the bench to support his aching head. Now, let the suffering begin. While he sipped away at his water he examined all the reasons why he couldn't grow a pair and talk to Maka like a real person and began to run the list of horrible outcomes if he did. It was a beautiful downward spiral he was on and he was obviously enjoying every minute of it when a voice almost made him jolt out of the bench.

"Hey!"

Soul pushed his headband back up squinting at the interruption framed in that painful sun.

"You look like shit," Pattie laughed, extending her hand which held one of two ice cream cones.

"Thanks." Soul took the ice cream hesitantly, not sure how his stomach was even going to negotiate something so heavy, but starting to drool at the thought of something so cool against his tongue and throat.

"Mind if I hang for a second?"

"Go ahead." Soul made himself smaller on the bench, giving Pattie a place to sit. He tried to focus on the ice cream, taking a hesitant lick, just to keep it from melting over his fingers.

"I won't stay long. Just an ice cream's worth of time." Pattie took a chomp of her ice cream, making Soul think this wasn't going to be a long conversation. "Any idea why I'm here?"

"You like ice cream in old people parks while you're hungover?" Soul shrugged, taking another lick, finding that his stomach was making do with the only sustenance he'd had today.

"Well, I know how to hold my liquor, unlike some people," Pattie winked. "But, really, Soul, no idea?"

"I think you're asking the wrong person."

"A little birdie told me you were really upset last night." Pattie raised her eyebrows, smiling gently at him. "That ringing a bell?"

Soul ran his free hand over his face, "I swear I'm going to skin Black Star alive."

"No, not him. Maka called me a little while ago."

"Maka?" Soul blamed the ice cream for the turn of his stomach. "What the hell did she say to you?"

"That maybe I had to let you down easy or something. Honestly, Soul, you're nice and all but I've never even thought about you that way." Pattie took another serious bite of her ice cream.

"She thinks I like _you_?" Soul stared at the liquid as it dripped over his fingers, his mind too chaotic to even register the mess he was creating.

"Well, yeah. She said you were jealous."

He started to feel anger creeping in, but then he thought, _OK, it's your own damn fault for not talking to her. That is literally all you said._ Soul took a deep breath, "I was jealous because I saw a demon weapon _with _their meister."

Pattie sat blinking for a moment before breaking out into laughter. "Oh! Wow, that's a relief. Wonder what made her get _that_ wrong."

"Yeah, I think that one's on me," Soul sighed, finally taking a clear look at the mess in his relationship and the mess in his hand. He tried to salvage the ice cream while Pattie laughed.

"So, Maka's the one you like, then?"

Soul couldn't blame the ice cream on the hard swallow. He might as well get used to saying it, but it felt a bit unfair that it wasn't Maka being the first to know. "Yeah."

Pattie flicked his ear. "I'm guessing you didn't tell her either, hence the mix-up."

Soul only gave a sigh as an answer.

"Tell her, dummy," Pattie punctuated with another flick. "I'm pretty sure it's not gonna end up as bad as you think."

"But it could," Soul grimaced.

"I don't think so, but that's _your_ problem, Soul. You think everything to death," Pattie tried to flick again, but Soul finally moved out of the way. "You know, Kid and I could work out, or we won't, but I never worry about if we don't because I respect Kid and I know he feels the same way about me. I know if it's over, it's not going to be some throw down fight that means we'll never be friends again. It's a risk, yeah, but in the end, we'd just go back to where we began. So isn't it worth trying?"

Soul pressed his hand against his mouth, trying to press back the emotion welling up inside him, threatening some not drunk tears.

"Yeah, it is," Pattie answered for him. "Now, go home. You can't just leave her crying."

"Fuck." Soul the thought of her sitting at home in tears while he was eating ice cream in the park left what felt like a hole in his lung, his breathing small and shallow. He handed what was left of the ice cream back to her and flew from the bench. He didn't really want to push himself too hard, but he had to get home now. He used what was remaining of the water to rinse his hand, trying to make sure he was at least slightly presentable. Damn, he wished he took a shower today, sure he still smelled like party residuals. This hangover probably wasn't doing wonders for his looks either.

He pushed all of that aside as he opened the apartment door, scanning each room to see if she was there. By the time he got to her door, he could hear her behind it, shuffling around. "Maka," he added a rough knock.

"Yeah, just a minute."

But he didn't wait the minute, turning the knob to find her just standing from her desk, desperately trying to clear the tears from her cheeks.

"Jerk! What if I was changing?" she stammered, trying to hide her face by turning from him.

"Come here," his voice came as a rough scratch, a stark contrast to the quality of his touch as he wrapped his arms around her, not allowing her to get away but instead forcing her tear-stained face to his chest.

Maka couldn't move, couldn't breathe, motionless in the unexpected nature of the moment.

"Don't cry," he breathed into her ear, pulling her even tighter.

She allowed her arms to move, to come to his back and clutch into the fabric of his t-shirt. "Soul…"

"Maka, I…" Soul finally gave in to the urge from last night, letting his cheek press against her hair. "I want to go out tomorrow. You and me."

"OK," Maka's confusion almost made the answer a question in itself. The two of them doing things together was nothing new, hardly something that would warrant this kind of attention.

Soul sighed, "I mean a date, Maka. You and me on a date tomorrow."

"A date?" her voice broke.

"A date." It was hard to tear himself away but Soul released her just enough to look her in the eyes. "You got it wrong, Maka. I was jealous because I wanted to be with my meister, too."

"Oh," Maka's voice felt small, warbling. She couldn't stop the new tears from flooding into her view, pressing a sob out that was part a laugh.

"Hey, don't cry, come on," Soul frantically moved his hands to her face, clearing the new tears and pushing the hair from her face. "Whatever it is, Maka, don't cry."

"I'm happy," Maka laughed through another blink of tears.

"So, you're saying yes?"

"Yes."

It felt like his lungs finally worked right, his breathing coming back to normal just as his heart started to race at the idea of a yes. His thumb ran along her cheekbone and as she tilted into his touch his whole body screamed to kiss her. _Not yet_, he reminded himself of the lack of shower, the absence of brushing his teeth this morning, and the fact that he was sure he didn't want his kiss to be as a fix, but as a moment all of its own. Soul moved to hug her closely again, moving his hands to her waist and giving her a little lift.

Maka almost squealed, her fingers tightening their grip as she felt her feet leave the floor. It only lasted for a second before Soul released her, parting themselves completely. She instantly missed the touch, her arms still reached out towards him.

There was finally the smile she had come to expect from him, that half-smirk that glowed from ear to ear. "Tomorrow."


	3. The Date

I wish I could stop procrastinating in my real life, but I can't stop writing these fics. We're getting close to MakaxSoul smut, but this is still pretty close to fluff and filler.

* * *

How do you get ready for a date when you live in the same apartment? Well, both spent most of the day locked away in their rooms, Maka in hers silently panicking about the way she looked in front of Soul for probably the first time in her life. It seemed absolutely ridiculous since Soul had seen her in everything from sweatpants to PMS acne breakouts, but she couldn't make her mind stop nitpicking.

Soul, on the other hand, stayed in the privacy of his room so he could stay shirtless for the majority of the time since he couldn't stop sweating and changing shirts a million times was not an option. Honestly, sleeping the night before was a test of will, since he could barely stop his brain from planning and replanning every moment of their time together. He forced himself to settle on dinner and then renting a movie. Of course, there was watching a movie in theaters, but in a way, he still wanted her all to himself and, most of all, wanted her to be comfortable. Not to mention the fact that she had definitely ranted more than once on the behavior of other people in a movie theater.

He watched the minutes tick by and just as it was about to turn six he pulled his shirt on, actually opting for a button-down. That caused an agonized moment about a tie, ending in him throwing on a thin black tie, going for the contrast against his white shirt. He knew he had to act fast, hoping that just finally seeing her would abate his nervousness enough that he wouldn't wreck this shirt. Of course, he did the cool thing and grabbed his suit jacket, throwing it over his shoulder, since whether it was overkill or not a jacket always looks good. It still felt like forever to get to her door and his hand almost went straight for the knob before he paused, thinking better and knocking first.

"Come in," her voice bordered on melodic.

Soul took one more breath and turned the knob, his eyes widening as she came into view. Now, looking cute was usually the norm for Maka as far as Soul was concerned, whether it was her every school wear or even the t-shirt-sweatpant combo at home, but this was something else. This dress had actually never made an appearance out of Maka's closet and for good reason: it was probably the most risque thing she owned, courtesy of a shopping trip with the Thompson twins. It was a deep jade, the kind that made her eyes glow, with a deep plunge to her waist in the back. The front came off a little more demure, but only slightly, with the cut still falling in her now more than middle school cleavage.

Maka had panicked for a good hour about the dress, insisting it was too much but then finding everything else mundane. It also didn't help that this required no bra and she had been constantly checking for slippage. But when her eyes finally met Soul's, seeing him almost lose his breath like he'd gotten a punch to the stomach, the anxiety of the dress melted away and the thought that she had finally hit one out of the park made her have to cover her mouth to hide the laugh.

He couldn't formulate words and could barely feel his legs as he forced them to move him towards her. It was even more torturous to see her cover that smile as if she knew this was what would happen. It was the only feeling he wanted at the moment, his fingers grazing across her bare back, his want to touch her easily excused by using that hand to guide her out the door. Just seeing her like that felt like enough, and he almost didn't need the rest of the date, but he wanted her to have it.

The reservations were set for 6:30, something that was different for both of them, but Soul was figuring the same old thing wasn't for tonight. He couldn't bring himself to separate their skin so he moved from her back to take her hand, something that made navigating the street a little easier. Maka didn't resist, instead using it as an excuse to walk closer to him, allowing their shoulders to bump. The walk was easy, especially despite the dress Maka opted for not so drastic shoes, and they made the fifteen-minute walk with ease. Soul slipped on his jacket finally, the abhorrent sweating finally dissipating, and let Maka pull him into the restaurant.

Dinner was easy, with no need to really tease out small talk about families and likes. The only difference really from their meals at home was the food since while Soul could crack a few eggs, he was not a five-star chef by any means. It was scrumptious, leaps and bounds better than their usual take-out and by the time dessert rolled around, Soul was almost sure he'd burst.

Maka definitely had other ideas. "Which one are you getting?"

"None," Soul shook his head solemnly, "I don't know how you can do it. Or where all the food goes for that matter."

"A true lady never reveals her secrets," Maka chimed, slapping the menu shut. "You might be wimping out, but I'm going to have the strawberry shortcake." It was fine to be defeated by Maka's superior stomach, but when he finally laid eyes on her dessert he was definitely jealous. Maka noticed his eyes darting and smiled, "Come on, at least try a bite." She loaded her fork, keeping a second hand underneath as a just in case of disaster plan before moving it towards his mouth. Soul had always believed Maka completely incapable of sharing her food but willingly opened, letting her feed him the sugary treat.

She ended up feeding him two more bites, a record-breaking event in the world of Maka eating. "You actually shared," Soul smirked, watching as she hovered another strawberry his way.

Maka considered flicking it at him but let the morsel meet its original mark instead. "Maybe it's another perk."

Soul chewed first, not wanting to ruin the vibe of the fancy restaurant. "Of what?"

"Finally dating me."

_Finally_. He wanted to scream at how stupid he'd been in taking all that time, not even imagining that she was waiting, too. "Does that mean I get more each time we date?"

"Don't press your luck, Soul."

"Nah, I think I used all of it getting you to come out with me in the first place." He reached his hand across the table and she took it. "Is this OK?"

"That's a stupid question," Maka squeezed his hand, tracing her thumb over his knuckles. "Are we… are we going home next?"

"If you want. I got some movies. Or we could wander for a bit. It's up to you."

"Walk for a bit, and then home. I need to work off some of this dinner."

"OK." As Maka got out of her seat, those nerves flared up in him again. It was the way that dress moved, her hair loose and providing a little cover to the bare skin of her back. All he wanted was to be close to her.

Maka held out her hand to him. "Ready?"

"For anything," he answered, moving past her hand to put his at the small of her back again, another excuse to have his skin on hers.

The night was just starting to cool down, breaking from the unbearable heat of the day. They'd walked only two blocks before Soul slowly came to a stop, jutting his chin at the shop to their left. "How about this place?" He'd been there plenty of times before, hell, he tried to _play_ there once before but lost the nerve and resigned himself to just listening to the piano there. Some were good, some were great, and tonight was hoping for the latter.

"What is it?" Maka eyed the lettering over the door. _Howl at the Moon_.

"It's where I'll give you that dance I owe you." Soul was actually playing it cool, much thanks to the completely not disastrous dinner and the fact that Maka's cheeks were turning just about as red as his eyes. "Come on." He led her in before the answer, hoping that whatever nerve he had now would hold strong. There wasn't a need to find a seat since with Soul's luck tonight an adequate slow song was just starting, allowing him to pull Maka right on to the floor. Really, this wasn't their first dance, especially after all those times with the black blood, but it felt like something new, his hand in hers and his other arm wrapping tightly around her waist as if he were afraid she'd get away.

"Not sure this one counts," Maka tried a joke to cool the blush on her cheeks but the way his eyes were so tightly focused on hers only made the heat increase.

"It's a different kind of style, sure, but don't tell me you'd prefer the grind to this?"

"Well, this one doesn't require a few drinks first." Her fingers tightened on his shoulder. "I'm really sorry about that."

"Don't be," Soul leaned in closer, his cheek resting on hers. It was amazing the way her body slowly relaxed against his, the music almost not even mattering. His tongue felt loose, even without drinking, and he found himself whispering against her ear, "I… Maka, I liked you the moment you touched my hand after I played for you the first time. It was like a spark shot me the moment our skin met."

"Really?" She brought her head back, catching his eyes, wanting to see the fooling there, but there wasn't any.

"I agreed to live with you because I thought that would kill it. We were two different people, we'd do something that the other didn't like and it'd fail, especially at fourteen." He released her hand to move the rough calluses of his palm against her neck, sliding up to her cheek. Her free hand moved to his chest, slipping under the breast of his jacket and sitting over his heart. "But it just did the opposite. We could fight together, we could live together, and sometimes it was hard but you always came back to me and I came back to you." His hand sunk deeper, slipping into her hair, a feeling that he was sure he had waited his whole life for. "You have to tell me that it's the same for you."

Maka took a shaky breath, the echoing of his speech in her head. She could laugh again, or cry again, both of them seeming like equal choices in her mind, but she found herself adopting something close to a Soul smile, that smirk filled with playfulness. "Just kiss me."

In their partnership, Soul had received a lot of orders from Maka, but this was definitely the one he liked the best. He forced himself to lean in slow, careful not to make that uncool fumble of clanking teeth or bumping noses. Her lips were soft, still with a lingering taste of strawberry from her dessert at the restaurant.

Maka's hand clenched into his shirt, feeling the clamoring beat beneath her fingers, knowing her heart was doing the same. She pulled away from him and felt him resist for a moment before letting her have her breath. "Take me home, Soul," she murmured across his lips before planting another delicate kiss.

He finally opened his eyes, seeing hers already staring up at him, glossy and almost drunk. "Are you alright?"

"I want to be alone with you," she was already shimming out of his instantly loosening arms, taking his hand with that smirk still on her face.

He was glad her hand wasn't over his heart anymore, missing as it starting to thunder at the idea of being alone. "Let's go, then." Elation started to beat along with his heart as she led him out of the piano bar and into the night air. After a few minutes, he was sure he'd seen her shiver. Soul slipped off his jacket, hanging it on Maka's shoulders.

"Thanks." Maka hugged it close, not only to block the evening chill but for the fresh laundry smell that always seemed to follow Soul around. As if to help, Soul wrapped an arm around her pulling her and the jacket tightly to him. Maybe he needed her to keep him standing steady a little, too, since the anticipation was starting to make his legs feel like putty, so he leaned into her, Maka happily accepting the closeness. To passersby, it just looked like a couple of drunk teenagers, but for them, it was the trembling of emotions that hadn't been released in years.

The stairs to the apartment felt innumerable and by the time Maka made it to the door, she was sure her heart would jump out of her chest. As she turned the key, she felt Soul's hands come to her hips, pressing her in as soon as the door opened. He imagined pushing her against the wall, closing the door behind him with his foot. He could see himself allowing her to turn in his arms but applying new pressure as soon as she faced him, feeling the curves of her body through the barely-there fabric of the dress. That last part made his whole spine tingle, but he found himself unable to press her, just standing with his hands on her hips in the quiet, apartment that at the moment felt too large.

"Soul?" There was a hint of anxiety in her voice and he started to worry that he'd somehow made an error bringing her back here.

"You OK?"

"Well, yeah," she turned slowly to him, his hands still drifting at her waist. "I think… I think that the movie would be a good idea."

"Sure, yeah." Soul searched for a way to mentally defuse the timebomb of his body.

"Why don't we change first? I think pajamas would be more comfortable." Maka slipped out of his hands, the trailing sensation of his fingers sending a chill up her spine.

Soul couldn't do anything but nod, already concerned that her in pajamas might be a little too much for him right now. Her tendency was that t-shirt and shorts combo, glimpses of which he's only really caught on her walk to the bathroom in the morning or the times she's forgotten he's been home, and that view usually revved his engine more than he'd like to admit. But that was her idea of comfort and she probably didn't have a clue that was the description of fantasy Maka. She wanted to be _alone_, but maybe it was just the regular alone, not the sultry vixen alone that this overactive imagination had started.

"OK," he felt his voice tremble and threaten to crack. He had to get it together, and this pajama time would have to be it. Maka gave him one of those brilliant smiles that made his toes tingle before disappearing into the darkness of the hallway to her room. Soul waited two breaths before going for his own.

Well, Soul was part right, Maka did want to be alone, but her mind was also starting to explore that idea of _alone_. On the dancefloor, it had started off as the want to be able to explore kissing him without the added discomfort of a bunch of strangers watching. But that other stuff wasn't alien to her, not that she'd ever really gotten the opportunity to _try _any of that, but there were more than enough locker room stories and, well, to be honest, porn out there that she had some idea of what _could_ come next. So the pajama thing was half comfort, but also a half attempt to buy time to think.

And if they only knew how each antagonized over something so simple as pajamas. To sleep, Soul always wore his boxer briefs, t-shirt optional, but that's hardly something he should walk out into the living room wearing. He had to pray and cross his fingers before digging through his drawers, hoping that there were still at least one pair of basketball shorts that were clean from the week. Saturdays are usually laundry days but he'd been so nervous this morning that he hadn't actually been able to function like normal Soul. But, yes, thankfully, at the bottom of a mess of t-shirts he found one pair of pristine shorts as if he'd been blessed by some otherworldly power. More likely he'd forgotten their existence packed so far down.

At the same time, Maka was deep in thought about the bra conundrum. Not wearing one with her simple sleeping t-shirts made it pretty obvious, and worse yet, most of those shirts were light in color and fairly overwashed and threadbare. But wearing one was uncomfortable! And they'd spent all of dinner without her in one and the world didn't implode or, really, Soul's head didn't explode. So, no, no bra, and she made sure that the shorts she picked were in the best shape of the bunch, no chance for her underwear to peek through, or at least she hoped not. By the time her agonizing was over and she made it into the hallway, she could already hear the soft hum of the coming attractions on the TV.

She tried to walk in as nonchalantly as possible but found herself instantly crossing her arms as soon as Soul's eyes fell on her. "What movie?"

"That old school Godzilla flick you rented," Soul couldn't stop himself from chuckling at even having that as an option. Man, Maka had weird taste.

"If you're not watching Godzilla from the Showa-Era, then you're not living." Maka's laughter joined his but she found herself hovering over him, unsure of how or where to sit. "Is this… is this OK, Soul?"

"You mean the movie? It's weird, but that's par for the course with all your other movie selections." Soul shrugged and patted the couch next to him.

Maka sat but felt as if she the muscles in her legs were tightening up. "No, I mean coming home."

Soul could only manage a weak laugh, his face starting to grow hot as his mind started to wander back to the _alone_ quandary. "I don't see a problem with ending our date with a movie."

"But," Maka took the remote from him, hitting the mute, "Soul, what do you want to happen tonight?"

A baseball bat at full swing would have hit softer than that question. Soul felt himself losing air like a diver with the chokes.

"And don't tell me it's whatever I want, OK?"

Strike two with that bat, making Soul feel as if he might grey out. Instead, he found himself reaching out, running his fingers across the back of her neck and then up into the golden locks she had thankfully left untied. Thankfully, he was still a little of a cool guy. "I want to kiss you again. Definitely. Beyond that… Maka, we just started. I don't think I want to try much more than that for tonight. But," his mouth felt like he was chewing on cotton and the hard swallow he tried did nothing, "What were you thinking?"

Maka bit at her lip, trying to keep the color on her cheeks at bay. "I want you to take off your shirt." The words almost choked her, but damn it, it was technically the truth. It felt like some stupid bodice-ripper fantasy, but she had seen him once or twice shirtless and it had made her heart clack against her teeth while her legs turned to rubber. Ever since he held her that close on the dancefloor, she wanted to know what that skin would feel like under her fingers.

"Are you serious?" Soul choked.

"I'm not saying _take me now_ or anything, just your shirt." The color was high on her cheeks but she forced herself to look him in the face, seeing a mirror of color across his features. "If you want, I'll-"

"No," Soul cut her off. "I meant what I said." He took the deepest breath of his life, trying to stop the tremors in his stomach, trying to tell himself he was sticking to his plan, shirtless or not. Detaching himself for her and leaning forward, he flipped his shirt over his head, letting it fall to the floor. His head slowly pivoted to her, seeing her head turned away, the color spreading all the way to her ears. "Hey, you wanted this," he found himself laughing huskily as he grabbed her chin, turning her face back to him.

Maka's whole body trembled at that laugh, her eyes drifting back towards his chest as he pulled her. He had still retained some of that lankiness from when they were younger, but Soul had definitely grown into a man underneath the clothes she never dreamed she'd ask him to take off. On that slender frame, the muscles were even more obvious, with firm collarbones giving way to firm pecs. And that's where she found the thing that had brought her eyes away in the first place. She had tried, but she couldn't forget that glowing white tangle that started at almost at his left armpit and drifted across his stomach down to his waistband.

"The scar," she couldn't stop the words from forming, calling up tears in the corner of her eyes.

"Maka, don't do that." He grabbed her, pulling her into his chest, feeling her fingertips press into his skin, a feeling that sent his head spinning. "All that stuff's old," his hot breath drifted across her ear. "Focus on the new." Soul slipped one of his hands over hers on his chest, dragging her fingers until she could feel his heartbeat through his skin. "Focus on what you're doing to me right now, because, honestly, I didn't know how much I wanted this."

Maka let her other hand drift across his skin, reveling in the fluttering sigh that escaped his lips as her fingertips hit his stomach. She almost begged for another kiss but with a soft laugh realized that he was almost too far gone in her touch to be ordered around. Her eyes drifted over his face, finding his closed tight, another shudder of breath splitting his lips as she retraced her route back up. Once that hand got back up to his chest, Maka allowed herself to fall into him, pressing him back into the couch, feeling the heat of his skin through her thin t-shirt.

Soul didn't take much coaxing, letting her lay herself on top of him on the couch, her cheek coming to rest against his bare skin. The feeling of her eyelashes brushing, her breath drifting across his chest elicited a surprisingly solid laugh from his chest.

"What's funny?" Maka couldn't stop her laugh from echoing his.

"Maka Albarn asked me to take off my shirt and now she's on top of me on our couch." Soul couldn't help another delirious laugh.

"How is that funny?" Maka lifted her head, bringing herself face to face with him.

"Because two days ago this was a complete fantasy and I was sure I'd die with it that way." His fingers traced the line of her jaw, stopping at her chin to pull her mouth just the inch forward he needed. He found himself sucking lightly on her lower lip, adding time to an otherwise short kiss. "But you never told me," he breathed out, feeling her shudder against him, "Was this your fantasy?"

"Dream sounds like a better word," Maka stole another quick kiss. "I think you really just want to hear I've liked you all along."

"Well?"

"Almost," Maka let her finger fall on the top of his scar, tracing it until she hit her own body. "I think it started after you played that trick on me with Blair, but it was inescapable after you got this."

"Meaning I could have told you years ago and gotten to this sooner." Soul moved both hands to her cheeks, trying to memorize the look in those green eyes.

"I don't know, Soul. We were kids. Maybe… maybe we're best equipped for it now." Maka inched a little closer, bringing her lips to his. Her fingers trailed the scar again and Soul moaned softly into her mouth, Maka jumping at the opportunity to slide her tongue along his. A spark lit in the pit of Soul's stomach, his hips jutting to press against hers as he took her lead, giving her free rein to explore his mouth. One hand trailed away from her face, sliding down her side to the edge of her shirt, snaking underneath just enough to touch her bare skin.

Maka eased to his side and brought her knee up, running her leg up to his waist. The friction on the way was unbearable, a heated agony that rattled up another moan in his chest. Soul parted from her, his breath thin, his hand against her skin gripping into the flesh. "Slow down." Maka tried to ease her leg back down but his hand shot to her thigh, grasping it in place. "That has to stay there for right now."

Maka rested her head back on his chest, careful not to move any of her other extremities. "Maybe it's time for the movie?"

"It's worth a shot." Soul reached to the coffee table, grabbing the remote and unmuting.

They'd missed a third of the movie getting tangled up together, but it was really the distraction that Soul wanted. Getting to eighteen just pining over the same girl year after year had left him well-stocked in the hormone department and after Maka's little shirt stunt, he was pretty sure she was in the same spot. But for some reason, it felt necessary for both of them to take it slow, like rushing through this would mean missing a piece of the puzzle. And, really, with the amount of time they waited a little longer shouldn't mean anything at all.


	4. The Interruption

Really short update! Enjoy!

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Sunrise was still a few hours off and the only illumination in the room came from the TV as it sat in bluescreen limbo. Maka was still sprawled over Soul's chest, her head tucked neatly against his neck. She had woken up an hour before in the disequilibrium of waking up in a place that wasn't her own bed but quickly found herself without the heart to move, more interested in retaining the warmth of the feeling of her skin against his. So, she had simply reached behind her and grabbed the blanket from the back of the couch, draping it over the two of them, and proceeded to fall back asleep.

Now, the way the two of them should have woken up was to rays of sunshine coming from the windows as the birds started to chatter from their perches outside. Soul should have woken first, a novelty for him since he was always the hardest to get out of bed, laying mesmerized by those glowing golden tresses cascading across his chest (even though a few of those strands will end up in his mouth because that's just what happens when you co-sleep that close). He would have decided not to wake her, to just hold her until she natural came out of sleep's spell herself. It wouldn't be too long that he would have to wait until those green orbs fluttered to life and he was face to face with the only woman in his heart.

Instead, Soul was awakened by a sharp elbow to his stomach. This wasn't really Maka's fault, but when the lights suddenly flashed on and she had opened her eyes to see Spirit Albarn standing at the foot of the couch, she had tried to scramble to her feet as quickly as possible and had slipped, sending her elbow to its current uncomfortable placement.

"The fuck-" Soul started as Maka finally got her elbow out of his intestines.

Maka had stumbled to her feet, pulling the blanket with her, trying to cover herself in some strange hope for modesty. "Papa, what-"

"What are you doing with my daughter?" Spirit didn't even bother to acknowledge Maka, his eyes hard-lining for Soul.

Soul sucked his teeth, only going so far as to prop himself up on the couch but refusing to stand. "This isn't cool, Spirit. I'm going to suggest you get out."

"Papa-" But again, Maka couldn't get a word in.

"_This_ isn't cool? What isn't cool is I go out tonight to hear my daughter's been seen making out with some guy at a piano bar and by the time I get here you're both half-naked on the couch. I told _you_ to stay away from _her_."

"I know you have, Spirit." Soul pauses, thinking to reach for his shirt, but says _fuck it_, since nothing they were currently doing was in any way bad. "But you can fuck off with that, OK?"

"Quit the cool guy act and get off the couch." Spirit took a step forward but Maka grabbed him, finally getting his attention.

"What do you think you're doing?" She spun him and it's as if he's seeing her for the first time.

"Maka, what do you think _you're_ doing? Why him?"

"Maka-" Soul starts to get up from the couch, now only motivated by the crimson rage he can see climbing up her throat.

"Take a seat, Soul," Maka shoots back and Soul finds himself listening to the order. "And you," she punctuated with a firm finger to her father's chest, a smile almost breaking the line of her mouth when he falters. "I'm _with_ Soul, and getting used to it now is better for you in the long run because if you sneak in here I will never speak to you again."

Spirit tried to grasp her hand but Maka slapped it down. "Maka, I'm trying to protect you."

"From what?" Maka turned her hand to Soul, pointing. "From _him_? The guy who hasn't been with anyone else since he became my partner? The guy who almost died for me more times than I'd like to admit?"

"But he's taking advantage-"

"I'm not some little delicate flower! If it hadn't been for Soul you would have found something a lot worse." Maka took a firm hand and pressed Spirit back as he faltered with his own breath, Maka's last statement stealing the air from his lungs. "If you leave now, we, you and I, can talk about this later, once I don't feel like murdering you."

"I just wish you'd understand that what you're feeling-"

"Papa, I know what I'm feeling. I love him." Soul's eyes widened to the point that it felt like there was no safe anchor for his eyeballs, but the determination didn't leave Maka's face, just a fine blush high on her cheekbones that Soul could maybe guess was still just her anger. Spirit and Soul waited for her to show something other than surety and when she stood her ground, face unchanged, both felt something in them snap. Spirit interpreted this as the moment he finally knew he'd lost her, that parental bond finally wrenched apart. Soul couldn't even tell what his was, but felt it, like a tremor that shot from his guts to his heart to his brain finishing with a firework that he was sure brought smoke tendrils from his ears.

Spirit had no more fight in him and Maka found herself easily pushing him back into the hallway. "You can't ever do this again, Papa," she brought her voice down to a soft whisper. Spirit was almost always wrong, but he tried, he really did, and Maka guessed she could see the love in it, no matter how annoying the circumstances. As long as he could back down, she guessed she could still love him, too.

"Maka, don't be mad."

"That's impossible," Maka punctuated with a short laugh, finally turning him around. "But I won't stay mad forever. Especially if you just leave now and if you just leave Soul alone."

Spirit let her laugh hit him hard, delaying his hand as it reached for the doorknob. "I love you, Maka."

"I know, Papa," but she chose the absence of the second half.

He turned the knob and eased his way through the doorway, closing the door softly behind him. Maka waited a heartbeat before turning the lock and then moving to press her back against the safety of the closed door, the safety of no more intrusions. She heard the couch creak, the soft padding of his feet against the bare floors, and finally his crop of white hair emerging into the hallway.

"I'm sorry!" Maka sighed heavily, running her fingers through her hair. "He must have a key or something. I don't remember giving him one, but-"

"Don't worry about it." Soul was hesitating, still feeling like those words were coursing through his veins, lighting a fire with every beat of his heart. Without realizing it, his hands flexed to mimic each squeeze.

"Soul?" Maka couldn't be comfortable in the fact that Soul now seemed a million miles away, fists knotting in his hands. She took a step forward but couldn't urge herself more than that, her stomach rolling with a new type of anxiety.

"Maka, what you said… are you serious?" Soul couldn't bring his eyes up from memorizing the floor.

Rewinding in her mind, Maka found the only hiccup in the conversation, that big L word that she dropped. "Soul, I said that… well, maybe it's not exactly what I meant…"

"So you lied?" Every inch of him felt brittle like his skin had been replaced with glass and one more word from her would shatter him completely. He had never bought into that heartbreak stuff, but here it was, the feeling that all of him could, and would, fall to pieces.

"No!" Maka rushed forward, her warm hands coming to his face, peeling his vision from the floor to the green glow of her eyes. "But I'm not some creepy single, white female who gets kissed and thinks we're in love. I love you as a person, as my partner, probably my best friend because, honestly, how could I not? But that other _love_, well… I think we're working on that, aren't we?"

Her touch brought that elasticity back to him, the threat that he was going to break slowly abating. Even with that, he found himself uneven, that new knowledge of a word that was still out of grasp trying his patience. Soul's body connected with hers, a small gasp erupting from Maka's throat as he trapped her against the wall. He grabbed her hands from his face and pinned them back at the wrist, his lips coming to hers with a desperation greater than he had felt the night before, his tongue pressing through her lips to languish against hers. It was only when Maka's knees started to tremble that he released from the kiss, breathing hard. "I want to love you like that."

Maka allowed herself a few breaths, her legs still feeling unsteady in the aftermath of their contact. "I guess that means I don't have to ask you if we're serious?"

"Way past that." Soul lets her wrists escape, her hands coming to rest on his chest. "Speaking of, you free tonight?"

Her laugh trickled across his lips, "I don't know. I didn't sleep so well tonight. I need my beauty rest, you know?"

"I'll tuck you in right now if it means we can watch another movie tonight."

"Watch or _watch_?"

"Both." Soul steps back enough to get his bearings before sweeping up her legs, lifting her in his arms. A yelp escapes Maka's throat as she jumps her hands from his chest to around his neck. "Like I said, I'll tuck you in. I'll even let you sleep all day."

Maka laughs as he starts the walk down the hallway. It's a tight fit and she can feel her feet gliding across the wall but there's an exhilaration blossoming in her stomach. She brought her lips to his neck, feathering kisses up to his ear. "I will, on one condition."

A groan slipped between Soul's lips as the words exhaled on his skin. "I'm listening."

"Stay with me."


	5. Everybody Knows

Really short, really overdue chapter. Enjoy!

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This time it was the gentle song of birds and the light coming through the window that urged Maka awake. Without the confines of the couch, they had stretched apart in the bed, but Soul's hand was still gently gripping her arm as if holding on to a lifeline. Today was going to be trying, knowing that this bed and just being with him today was not on the schedule. They had to go back to real life, regardless of the magical quality of the weekend. "Soul," she cooed.

"Five more minutes," he grumbled as he only half lifted an eyelid. As the situation dawned on him, his head popped up, his eyes now closer to open. "You're here."

"You're in my bed, remember?" Maka reached out, her hand running through his hair.

"I thought I was dreaming." Soul inched closer, getting to the point where he could hide his face in the crick of her neck, a strong arm wrapped around her waist. "Now five more minutes."

"You'll make us late." Maka didn't have the heart to detach him, finding herself drifting a hand up and down his side, feeling the goosebumps under her fingers.

"_You'll_ make us late." Soul grabbed her hand, stopping the agonizing motion that had begun waking him up in a slightly different way. He found himself kissing at the soft skin of her neck, added a little of a nip which rewarded him with a tiny gasp from Maka. He couldn't help himself with that snapshot of Maka saying she loved him so steadily without any kind of doubt replaying in his head. But that didn't mean some kind of free access pass, did it? Soul reigned himself in, moving back to this morning's original position. "Wake me up when you're done getting ready."

Maka wanted to argue, especially since that meant she'd be changing in front of him, but she watched as his eyes almost instantly thudded closed, his breathing evening out. There was no chance of peeking if he was completely asleep, and that wasn't hard for Soul at this time of day. Maka moved slowly from the bed, following her deeply ingrained morning ritual except with the added flow of happiness at the thought of Soul still curled up her bed.

As she started the coffee, she allowed herself to settle into a wave of triumph, riding it through the mundane acts of hygiene in the bathroom. Her shower felt too long as if she were wasting time that could be better spent waking him up, kissing him or a myriad of other activities. _Other activities_, she blushed. She had almost pushed him too far, her, of all people! Even thinking about what got into her last night made her stomach tingle, feeling unsure but not hesitant about this other side of herself.

Wrapped in a towel, she drifted back into her room, Soul still stretched out on his stomach. She took a moment to appreciate the musculature of his back, happy that he was asleep for her inspection, not sure she could handle any teasing from being caught. When she turned from him she waited, listening for movements in the sheets until she was sure there was none. Only when she assumed it was safe, aided by the obscured view thanks to the door of her closet, did she throw off her towel and begin to dress.

It wasn't very surprising that Soul remained dead asleep until she leaned over him, fully dressed and ready for the day. He jumped slightly, his arms lifting him up, stretching out his back in something like an upward dog pose. "What time is it?"

"Time for you to get up." She trailed a finger down his spine, causing him to shudder before giving up the bed yoga.

Soul ambled to his feet, catching her before she could exit the bedroom, an arm tight around her waist. "Remember, you and I have another date tonight."

"Staying in?"

"Whatever you want." His arm released her and he pushed past her, making his way slowly to the bathroom before closing the door.

Maka finally poured herself a cup of coffee, taking a deep whiff of the liquid paradise before taking a sip. She went about fixing breakfast, not something necessarily out of the ordinary but still bordering on treating him, timing it just right as she heard him fumbling to get dressed in his own bedroom. When he finally emerged, the table was set and ready for the two of them, Maka already seated and still sipping at her coffee.

Soul rubbed his hands together before sitting across from her, "What'd I do to deserve this?"

"It's nothing special."

"Uh-huh." Soul let her get away with it, the coy smile, the good boy treatment because, hell, he felt like he had been good, finally. He'd survived asking her out, a fine dining experience, being cursed out by her father, and even the L word. If he could do these things, maybe he did deserve pancakes. They both munched away, stealing glances and breaking into smiles between bites. As usual, Soul finished first, thumping off to start the act of clearing his dish and the mess in the kitchen so he didn't have it all waiting for him when they got home.

He groaned when he glanced at the clock, realizing how much he time he had wasted just being in her bed. There wasn't anything in this world that would make him admit it out loud, but he had definitely only been half asleep, that awake part of him savoring her scent in the pillow and the memories of her skin on his. Maybe they should call in sick today, stay home and-

"Come on." Maka tugged at the back of his shirt, waking him from his daydreaming bliss. "You better drive us, we're barely going to make it as is."

"Yeah, sorry." He playfully pinched at her elbow just as she was about to get away, a tiny yelp exiting her mouth. "Maybe next time _someone _will wake me up on time."

"Oh, yeah, my fault. Just like the millions of other times we've been late thanks to the fact that you could sleep through the apocalypse." She batted away his hand before grabbing her things in the hallway, feeling him hovering behind her, his hand jammed in his pockets. "Don't you need your bag?"

"Left it on the bike," Soul shrugged.

A withering sigh escaped her lips. "At least you're prepared."

Soul would usually head out before her, starting the bike, making sure she was in tip-top shape before he dared let her move but his mind was elsewhere. It's always a woman that comes between you and your automobile and this was no different. He was watching her move instead, the way her hair cascaded across her shoulders as she bent at the waist and the way her skirt showed a little more thigh before she stood straight again, finally ready to get on the move.

Maka was in a rush, though, and Soul finally caved into that feeling, setting aside his need to look at her in this new frame so he could get them to DWMA without a fight. It should have felt just the same, the way her arms wrapped around his waist as she sat behind him on the bike, but this time the muscles of his stomach shivered under her fingers, even though the fabric of his shirt. Tonight could not come fast enough, as he was sure the sensitivity was all thanks to that anticipation that he'd get to touch her again.

It was the regular, almost every day rush into the doors, Maka always at least four steps ahead of him as he adopted his hands in his pockets amble into the building. Students were still loitering around the hallways, at least giving the illusion that neither of them was noticeably late yet.

"Oh, Maka, there you are!" Tsubaki pushed through a group of underclassmen, her hands full of paperwork. "Look, I have the notes from Marie on JB's old work, but I think there's more in the library that we could get our hands on if you're interested."

"Thanks, Tsubaki!" Maka took the pile out of her hands, skimming through a few on the top with her fingers. "We could meet up at the library after-"

"After you see Kid," Patty interrupted, popping up over Tsubaki's shoulder. "Apparently there's something he wanted to talk to you about."

"Talk with us, you mean?" Soul finally joined the conversation, coming shoulder to shoulder with Maka.

"Nope, just Maka!" Patty sang cheerfully.

Maka glanced over at Soul, her shoulder just lightly tapping his. "It's starting to sound like I'll just meet you at home tonight."

"Sure, whatever." Soul stole a glance at Patty, who seemed to be intently staring at the two of them regardless of her message being sent.

"See you later." Maka's hand gently nudged into his before taking the first step away from him.

He didn't let that hand get away, moving to grasp her wrist before giving it a gentle tug. Maka's step faltered, bringing her close enough to him that he could lean in, planting a soft kiss on her cheek. The color flared where his lips had just been. "Later."


	6. A Touch

This one is taking some time because I was definitely not sure where I was going. I think (?) I've figured it out, maybe. We'll see how hard this becomes because I'm trying to figure out if this scenario works. Keep your fingers crossed for me.

* * *

That blushing, giggling group of girls had been on his mind all day. Obviously, he should have known what his actions would have dominoed into but that had been the furthest thing from his mind when he said goodbye to her this morning. It was a last-ditch effort to be close to her before she was pulled in the million directions Maka always seemed to be going in lately. And now he was left waiting for those directions to come back to him, mentally replaying the way her hand came to her cheek as if to hold the feeling of his lips there.

Just in case, he straightened the apartment up when he got home, leaving nothing out of order and all the morning's and week's mess cleaned up. As the clock ticked closer to dinner he ordered take-out, leaving a note for her before heading out to pick it up, hoping that somehow she would be back before him. It was only a twenty-minute window that he had been gone, but he found himself borderline ecstatic as he saw her bag in the hallway as he returned, hearing the soft rush of the shower from the bathroom at the end of the hallway.

With the take-out spread across the coffee table, he waited with the thinnest veneer of patience. The creaking of the bathroom door was almost enough to push him to his feet but he waited, hearing the open and shut of her own door before more moving around. He allowed himself to get to his feet in order to put in the movie, letting the sound of the coming attractions drown out the sound he was looking for.

Maka finally appeared, slowly braiding her damp hair as she moved towards him, a smile forming around the hair-tie clenched in her teeth. She finished up the braid as she sat, her slightly damp fingers running up his arm. "You weren't fair at all today."

"What?" Soul grasped her hand before it could get very far, forcing it to stay at his elbow.

"That kiss," she laughed.

"You got what you deserved," Soul smirked.

"At least I get this." She motioned to the spread before slipping off the couch so that the coffee table was flush with her chest. "All for me, right?"

"Starving me of food as well as attention today, I guess." He sunk down to her level, grabbing the containers only after she took her share.

"I did get a lot of work done, and I found out some stuff about Soul Perception that I think I can use." Maka bumped shoulders with him, "But it was lonely without you."

"You better say that." Without even bothering with his plate, Soul stole a forkful off of hers, smirking through the mouthful.

Maka tried to slide her plate to a safe distance. "You're going to be insufferable tonight, aren't you?"

Soul shrugged, chewing through his mouthful. An explosion popped up on the screen, the terribly cheesy action flick that he picked for the night starting off strong. He let his eyes linger on it until the food cleared from his mouth then let his glance come back to Maka. "What did Kid want?"

"Oh." Maka covered her mouth until the last dregs of food were chewed. "Another cute little attempt from Papa. Kid had to talk to me about fraternization policy at DWMA."

"Fraternization policy?" Soul sighed, stabbing his fork a little too hard into the plate with a clang.

"I could give you a list of reasons why Papa never should have even attempted, but I'd be wasting my breath." Maka sighed, placing her elbow next to her plate and leaning into it. "Kid said to be careful. Don't let it get in the way of missions. You get the picture."

"I'm almost glad I wasn't there," Soul grumbled. "But Kid knows, then?"

"Uh, I'm pretty sure everyone knows after your little goodbye this morning." Maka stuffed another bite into her mouth, an amused smile accompanying her chewing.

"I'm starting to think with how much you're bringing it up, you liked it." Soul leaned in, barely bringing his lips to her cheek. Her laugh as it landed emboldened him and he trailed a few kisses down her jawline to her neck, finding her moving her head to allow for better access.

"Finish eating," she murmured, a weak hand pressing to his chest.

That was a direct order but it was hard to take, his appetite leaning more towards the taste of her skin than the food on his plate. Soul ended up rubbing a hand over his face, trying to wipe those kinds of thoughts, his eyes drifting back to a car chase now zooming on the screen. Talking no longer really seemed like an option since perhaps the sooner he finished his plate, the sooner he'd be able to go back to that more enticing flavor. Then again, Maka was famous for never tiring of eating, something you'd never expect with her slight frame.

Regardless, he finished quickly, starting to clear out the containers along with his plate. By the time he had put the leftovers in the fridge he heard her feet padding behind him, the clang of her own plate in the sink. "I'm going to make tea. You want some?"

"Sure." He let his hand drift across her lower back as he brushed past her, exhilarated by the way the fabric of her shirt felt under his fingers. "Want me to pause the movie?"

"Absolutely not necessary," Maka laughed. "Explosions as a plot device does nothing for me."

"Your loss." Soul left her in the kitchen, launching himself over the back of the couch just in time for one of those plot devices Maka didn't approve of. He stretched out on the couch, his legs daring to be well into her section as he gave half of his attention to the movie. The other half was wandering back to her skin.

Maka arrived, tea mugs in hands, and placed them on the table before hovering over the couch.

"Come here," came his gruff order. Soul had slid a little closer to the end of the couch, leaving her a tight squeeze against him and the back.

She hesitated, "I think you have a little too much faith in how small I am."

"We fit before." Soul smiled and grabbed her hand, pulling her another step towards the couch. "And being close is the point."

Maka steadied herself with a hand and knee between him and the couch, trying not to simply throw herself onto him. Soul still uttered an _oof_ as she got all the way down, her head resting on his chest. "You're OK?"

He let out a content sigh, repositioning his arm between her and the back of the couch so that it wrapped around her shoulders. "Better." Soul tried to bring his attention back to the movie but in her attempt to sink into him her leg came up again, gliding right over that sensitive spot, or at least one of the most sensitive. Without thinking, a grunt broke from his throat.

"What?" She lifted her head so innocently, completely unaware, those big green eyes blinking at him.

Soul stared at her for a moment, a rush of embarrassment tinged with want bringing color to his cheeks, "Be careful with that leg."

Her smile bordered on devilish. "You're blushing."

"It's your fault." He tried to frown with his reply but that evil grin was too much, his own grin starting to threaten at the corners of his mouth.

"Didn't you want close?" Her knee threatened another movement.

Soul swiftly brought his free hand to her thigh, clutching at the skin to force it to stay in place. "Maka, be careful."

That was a phrase he rarely had to say to her and when he did it usually worked against him. "Or what?"

"Or what," he echoed with a laugh. "If you're trying to play chicken with me…" His hand drifted up her leg and over her shorts, finding the spot where it met the fabric of her shirt. He let his hand disappear under the fabric, inching over her ribs.

"Soul!" There was the same shock in her voice as when he would put his cold fingers on the back of her neck, but he knew it wasn't about temperature.

"Done playing?" Soul cooed.

Maka bit her lip, trying to keep that impish smile at bay, "Maybe for now."

Soul had to swallow a groan, that look on her face only helping to encourage his body in the direction her leg was already taking it. He let a thumb caress along one of her ribs, watching as the blush rose on her cheeks but didn't prompt another cry. He forced his eyes back to the movie but his hand stayed, fingers still tempting along that border. The thought that maybe this had been the worst idea started to fade as she remained still, not eliciting any more from him.

That was until she tried to get her tea, a move that required she shimmy her body directly on top of his in order to get in range of her cup. Worse yet, he had to remain completely still so that he didn't catapult that fiery liquid in any direction, just allowing her to take a quick sip before putting it back. "Is that how you're going to drink tea the whole night?" he grumbled.

"Probably," another wave of innocence in her voice as if she didn't know, couldn't tell what she was doing. It was a whole other matter when she slid back to her spot, more than her leg making friction-filled contact.

"Maka," it was half a growl, half panicked groan. For all his daring, he was ninety percent sure his hand wouldn't budge an inch, the thought of moving past kissing her both terrifying and exciting. That was all that could occupy his mind, and he found his fingers flexing into her flesh. Before he could release the shaky sigh from his lips, Maka had latched onto them, her kiss stealing the breath right from his mouth. His body was screaming approval while his heart tugged at him, worry starting to blossom in his chest.

Soul would never call her fragile, especially after watching the myriad of ass-kickings she had doled out and received over the years but… The people closest to Maka always seemed to follow their own selfish desires and he had watched it break her in ways that made his blood boil. Maybe her body wasn't anything close to frail, but her heart was likely to shatter and had crumbled before his eyes more than once. His hand relaxed, caressing down her side to rest again at her waist, and he eased all of his attention into the kiss, slowing her down with languishing rolls of his tongue against hers.

When their lips finally parted, he found himself repeating a familiar mantra, "Slow down." Maybe that statement was more for himself than her, his mind fixed on not just holding her, but holding her heart together.

* * *

Soul waiting for her outside of Meister class was the status quo, but a girl standing there with him was not. Maka couldn't stop herself from feeling it, that dirty little green-eyed monster, as soon as her eyes took in the scene. He was leaning against the wall, somehow still perfectly handsome while slumping, his hands positioned in their pocket homes. The girl, name and face beyond Maka's memory, clearly too close to him, corralling him to the spot. The worst of it all was that he was smiling, making not the killer signature smirk, but at least an upturned corner of his mouth, no look of disdain or apathy.

And while her name came excitedly off his lips as soon as his eyes met hers, he only just grabbed her hand, barely the entirety of it and closer to just playing with her fingers. Maka was sick with it, the feeling oozing through her bloodstream, making every muscle in her body stiffen. "Who was that?" It took every ounce of concentration not to make that sound strained, forced.

"Girl from weapon's class. Aimee? Ashley?" Soul shrugged.

Aimee or Ashely wasn't even important enough to register a name for Soul and Maka tried to convince herself of that same meaninglessness. "You just have class together?" It was obviously there now, the tremble in her voice and the hate for herself rose like bile in the back of her throat.

"Yeah, like I said," Soul's eyebrows furrowed. "Maka…"

She came to an immediate stop, letting Soul stumble a step before turning to look at her. "I, uh, forgot I was supposed to go to the library. They should have more books on soul perception for me today." Not entirely a lie, since, yes, she had ordered more books, every book to be exact, on her new talent but this was not really a pressing urge. Those books would have kept for a few days but it was the only possibility she saw in her mind right now.

A scowl was started to wrinkle his face. "Maka-"

"I'll see you at home." She wanted her voice to chime melodically, the sweet little call of those words that she usually gave him as an apology for having to put her attention elsewhere. Instead, it sounded sick, warbling from her throat.

She heard his swift intake of breath, the sign he was clearly ready for a fight but Maka was already turning and rushing back down the hallway. There was no way Soul would yell down the hallway, no way he'd start something in a place so full of people and knowing this just turned her stomach more. She was a coward and, worst yet, she'd let that stupid feeling wheedle its way into her heart.

* * *

Soul was staring at the still black TV screen, hands clenching into the fabric of the couch. He should turn on some jazz, or go spar with Black Star, or _something_ other than sitting in the slowly darkening apartment just waiting for her to get home. His feelings had been fluctuating somewhere between furious and morose, fluttering between _how dare she_ and _why would she_. There was also a splash of _it's all Spirits fault_ and _you did tease her constantly about her body for years_ to even out. It all made for a clusterfuck of thoughts in his head, none of which was helping the waiting process.

Even with the click of the door, the only motion he could manage was the unclenching of his fists, bringing them to rest on his knees, his fingers screaming as the blood finally rushed back to them. "In here," his voice was gruff as he fought against the yell that was starting in his throat.

Maka's footsteps were slow as she moved to the doorway, her eyes looking around the room first before settling on him. "Hey, I was going to shower then I thought maybe we could go-"

"We're going to talk first." Every ounce of concentration was put into those words, to keep them even and without the anger he'd simmered in all day.

"OK." Maka's bag dropped to the floor but the rest of her stayed still, her lips pressed tightly against any more words.

"You were unfair today, Maka." This is one of those situations where _I_ statements were supposed to help but Soul couldn't control it, feeling more of the fury than the sadness.

Without thinking, without letting that pained look on his face process she snapped at him, "I was unfair?" Soul didn't bite, just let that moment of bitterness fall ineffectually away. Maka sighed, "I was unfair."

Soul now concentrated on his own breath, mind revolving around word options. "I was talking to another girl. That happens."

"But she's interested in you. Did you see that?" She hated the defense as soon as it came out of her mouth and the sigh that came off his lips in reply made her stomach seize.

Soul let his fingers free again, opening and closing them to get back feeling. "Do you think I like her?"

"No," she murmured.

"Good." Soul stood up slowly, his eyes searching hers. "Since I don't."

"But…" There was nowhere to go from there since Maka knew that the only explanations she had were just a byproduct of the damage in her life.

"I get why," Soul interrupted her search for excuses. "I guess I'm pissed at the comparison though."

Maka sighed, "You're not Spirit."

"Damn right I'm not," Soul shot back. "But what hurts more is that you'd try to pretend like you didn't feel it. Like you couldn't talk to me about it. That's the unfair part."

Her feet finally started the move forward, hesitant until his hands reached out for her. She had hoped they would wrap around her but instead fell to her shoulders, holding her tightly. "I know. I'm sorry."

Soul sighed, fingertips becoming softer against her skin. "Look, Maka, we kept this secret for a long time, right? All it did was hurt both of us. No more secrets. We can't keep secrets if this is going to work."

"I know," her voice warbled as the tears started in her eyes. "Then, listen, Soul, because I know it's not going to make any sense but it's part of it."

He let his hands roam from her shoulders down her back, pulling her a little closer when they settled on her hips. "It's more than just today?"

Maka nodded her head slowly, using the time to take in a shaky breath. "I'm… I think you…" The words jumbled in her mouth and she waited for the release of her tears to try to unwind them. "I know it's crazy but I'm worried that you don't want to touch me."

"What?" The laugh withered on his lips as soon as another batch of tears waved down her cheeks.

She brought her hands to her cheeks, clearing them before taking another unsure breath. "You always… stop. You kiss and your hands start to drift but they always stop. I know I don't push either but…"

"I do," this laugh came short, delirious with the disbelief, "but not because I don't want to. I just… is that what you want?" His fingers gripped a little tighter on her hips.

"Yes." Maka brought her eyes to his, bewilderment crossing them as a glowing grin started to stretch across his face. As soon as the word was out of her mouth, he started to press her back, hands snaking under her sweater to pluck it off. "Soul," came as a gasp as he pulled.

"This comes off." She relented, letting the sweater flutter to the floor. In the process, Soul had moved her back into the hallway, pressing her to the wall. His eyes fell to the buttons on her shirt, his one hand starting to make awkward work of each eyelet. Even though this was taking most of his concentration, Soul managed another laugh. "You should tell me to take my own advice now."

Maka was lost in the agonizing wait for him to finish the buttons. "What?"

"Telling the truth." He finished the last button, not bothering to try to force the shirt the rest of the way off, just letting his hand slide from her bellybutton along her ribs, pausing for a breath just at the bottom of the cup of her bra. "I was worried about pushing you."

The breath faltered in her laugh as his hand pushed upward, squeezing at the cup of her bra. The exhale turned into a moan as he repeated the motion, his smile disappearing out of her sight as he brought his mouth to her collar. He littered kisses as he pushed the fabric away from her neck and shoulder with his free hand. Maka got the message and shrugged off the rest of her shirt to give him a larger canvas. With his hand no longer occupied with moving her shirt to the side, he let it fall to her waist, sliding it around the back to meet the clasp of her bra.

His breath spread heat across her neck, "This, too." It bordered on a question, his hand momentarily slowing at the pull of the closure.

"Yes." Maka tilted her chin, her lips catching his cheek.

Soul's fingers could be nimble in many situations but this proved a challenge, his concentration broken by her coaxing his lips from her shoulder to her mouth. Even worse, her fingers were burning their own trail up his back making him wish he'd taken a moment to get his own shirt off in this process. After much negotiation, the clasp relented, the cups popping away from her breasts as she shrugged her shoulders to enjoy the freedom. Without hesitation his hand slipped under the fabric, thumb caressing over her nipple.

"Soul," his name melted into a groan from her lips.

"I'll do anything you want," he whispered hoarsely. Soul pressed his hips against hers, a grunt escaping his lips at the friction. "Just tell me where to start, when to stop."

Maka let out a trembling laugh, her fingers running down his back. "Start by letting me shower."

"You don't have to." He greedily grabbed at her breast again, the calluses of his fingers rough against the tender skin.

"I want to," Maka had to bite back a moan to get the words out. "But you can wait for me in bed."

A sigh, filled with longing and frustration burst from his lips, his hands slipping away from her skin. "If you're not out of the shower in fifteen minutes I'll drag you out." Maka thought she was free and took an unsteady sliding step to the side, only to feel his hand grab her chin, turning her face back to his. "I want you. Just you, Maka."

"I know," she murmured, her hand softly coming to his to ease it away, to let herself move out of his grasp.

"Fifteen minutes," he grumbled.

Maka laughed, letting her bra fall to the floor in the hallway. "I know."


	7. The Exchange

I'm falling so behind on all the fics! Please forgive me and take this small update in return.

* * *

In the hallways of DWMA, or even out on the streets of town, things remained mostly the same. His fingers would only just linger in hers, or as he dropped her off at a class he might lean in and press a gentle kiss against her cheek but he seemed to continue to remain aloof. Once at home though, with doors closed and only her there, Soul's hands would almost constantly be roaming, touching, caressing. It wasn't always with the intent to move her to the bedroom but sometimes just to memorize the sensation of running a finger along her collarbone or tracing the line of her shin. There was never another question of his need to touch her. After a few months of that, there was barely an inch of her he hadn't touched.

Perhaps that was what made this moment the hardest for him to stomach. "Kid, I don't like it."

"I didn't exactly expect you to," Kid shrugged. His eyes wandered around the room, hopping from Maka to Spirit, from Stein to Marie, and finally settling back on Soul. "But, as I discussed, there's a real possibility this enemy has the capability to break resonance. We need familial bonds on this one."

"Then why are Stein and Marie going?" Soul shot back.

Sensing the oncoming barrage, Kid slunk back into his seat, propping his ankle on his knee before leaning back. "Because Stein is a very capable fighter even without a weapon and Marie-"

"Then let me go, too!" Soul could hear it, the childish petulance rising in his voice, but was completely unable to stop it. Maka being away from him seemed absurd, a punishment of the cruelest kind.

"Soul," Maka started, her hand coming to his elbow.

He was powerless against it, the way her wavelength shimmied into his heart, latching on. Air hissed between his teeth as he turned his back to the group, just barely staying in the range of Maka's reach.

"Quite a temper tantrum," Spirit muttered under her breath.

"Papa," Maka warned, her eyes narrowing at him. "Do we have any other solid information on the target?"

"As I was saying," Kid sighed, "Marie will be necessary for her strength against the madness. This seems to be one of the last of Asura's leftovers."

"So we hope," Marie sighed.

The rest of the briefing dissolved into fragmented conversations, allowing Soul to pull Maka to the side, his hand grabbing hers from his elbow. "I don't like it."

"So you said," Maka couldn't stop a laugh, even as it made his eyebrows furrow. "You need to be here for Kid, anyway. You can't leave him without his scythe."

"Because Patty and Liz are useless," Soul hissed back.

"What's gotten into you?" Maka reached her hand out, touching his cheek gently just before he stepped away to leave it hanging in the air.

Soul jammed his hands in his pockets, his eyes searching hers. "I protect you, Maka. If I'm not there and something happens-"

"Then you'll be able to hold it over Spirit's head for the rest of your life," Maka smirked. "_Nothing's_ going to happen."

The prospect of having such a weight over Spirit was tempting, but nothing but the feeling that this was wrong, completely topsy-turvy would stick in Soul's mind. The rational side of him could see the plan and the way it needed to be done and he could completely understand Kid's decision to exclude him but it didn't get rid of the nagging scream that sounded in the back of his mind. He could also tell himself a million times that she was courageous, capable, and strong as hell but that didn't quiet his mind either. "Damn it, Maka," he croaked.

"It's going to be fine." Maka pried his hands away from his pockets, her fingers intertwining with his. "A week tops and…" She moved a little closer, her whisper just for him to hear. "You and I will take a day, just us, OK? We'll stay in bed, we'll… just us."

Soul got one of his hands away, bringing it up to touch her cheek. "I'm holding you to that."

"I know," Maka smiled. "Just be waiting when I come back."

* * *

Soul realized it after the first week, the answer or at least part of the real answer to why this was bothering him so much. By the second week, it was waiting impatiently on the tip of his tongue. But it was almost forgotten, thrown to the backburner when he received the call the third week, the instruction to come to the dispensary but only to come if he was going to be calm, if he wasn't going to pitch a fit. Obviously, Kid did not use those specific words, but with the tone, it was heavily implied.

"She's out of the woods," Spirit offered as soon as Soul stepped through the doorway of the dispensary. It was a ceiling he knew well, having stared at it after one too many battles, but definitely not a place he ever felt at home in.

That idiotic phrase made the bile burn in Soul's throat. The only option that seemed rational in his brain at that moment was to lay Spirit flat on his back with the punch Soul owned him since Maka and Soul first became partners. But all thought, regardless of rationality, left him as soon as he caught sight of the honey-colored tresses spread across the pillow. "Maka…" Fists that had been so ready to hurt crumbled apart, turning to gently lingering fingers that smoothed her hair, touched her cheeks before settling on her hand and taking it in his.

Soul tried to concentrate on the clear sound of her breathing. The only interruption behind him for some time was the shuffle of feet, bodies behind him trying to wait their turn for his attention. It wasn't long before the silence was broken, Mira's voice as gentle as he had ever heard her sounded from his shoulder. "She's been conscious a few times. The problem was the infection-"

"With what?" Soul snapped.

Mira sighed, "An infection, Soul, a regular infection from the wound in her side."

"We were so remote that it took a few days to get her any kind of treatment," Spirit added.

Not magic, not madness, just something plain, run of the mill had almost taken her down. Again, the levelheaded Soul was trying to be firm, _This could have happened with you there or not. _But the other side quickly whispered, _But would she have gotten hurt at all with you there? _The internal fight was suffocating him and his grip on her hand tightened.

"Soul…" It was Marie's soft voice, calm oozing into his bloodstream as soon as her hand met the skin of his forearm. "Breathe, please."

He did as he was told, letting his eyes wander from the hand on his arm up to Marie's face. "She's going to be OK?"

"Completely fine," Marie smiled softly, her hand rubbing more warmth into his arm. "Mira will have the final say, but you'll probably take her home tomorrow." She motioned to Spirit and then to the chair in the corner of the room, waving him to bring it forward. Marie's instructions were always to be followed and Spirit brought the chair to rest at the back of Soul's knees. "Sit, relax, wait for her to wake up again."

"OK," Soul answered back lamely, letting his knees collapse as his rear hit hard in the seat. He let his head sink to the sheets, forehead pressed to the top of her hand. Soul forced a deep breath as he listened to the shuffling of feet again, the ruffle of the curtains and the squeal of the door. "Maka…" and the name brought the burn of tears starting.

"Are they gone?" Her reply was barely above a whisper.

Soul's head shot up, his fingers gripping hers desperately, "Maka?"

"Hey," she squeaked as her eyes barely opened.

The chair didn't matter anymore, Soul shooting back to his feet and onto the bed. "Can I kiss you?"

"Can't make any promises about my breath, but please," she smiled. Soul climbed completely into the bed, careful of touching her sides since he hadn't figured out what side, before leaning over her, his lips planting delicately against hers as his hand rubbed gently on her cheek. "That's nice," she murmured as the strength came back to her smile.

Her words didn't even register as his eyes searched hers. "I want to take you home." He let the words tumble from his lips as he trailed kisses across her cheek to her neck.

"Slow down," Maka murmured. "Not well enough for that yet."

"I'm not…" He sighed as he pulled himself away from her skin, knowing full well he was about to lie. Not that he was about to undress her in the dispensary, but he felt it, a new, particularly painful edge to the urge. It was as if he needed to touch her body to validate its existence, that the way to prove life was to mimic creating it. "Sorry," he offered with a heavy sigh.

Maka patted his cheek with her hand. "I do owe you a just us day, I know, but…" She breathed slowly, her hand coming to the ache at her side. "Just give it a little time."

Soul carefully slipped his hand over hers. "You OK?"

"Nothing you waiting on me hand and foot for a few weeks won't take care of," she grinned.

That was just enough to elicit a laugh, "One week."

"Two," Maka shot back.

"Alright, two." The humor started to drain from him as his fingers touched the bandage. "How'd it happen?"

Maka sighed, her hand draping over his to stop the motion. "It was my own fault, Soul."

Soul tried to derail this train of thought but the words came out regardless of the warning his mind was giving. "Because you're not careful?"

Maka pressed her lips together, calculating the next lines. It _had_ been her fault, but no matter the way she could think to tell the story she was sure that Soul would latch on to some detail that said otherwise. Even further, telling him the truth that it probably wouldn't have been any different with him there, well, would at the very least injure that pride that he held so tightly to, his ability to protect his meister. "It was my fault. It happened. But I'm back with you and-"

Marie's throat cleared behind them, making the two jump, Soul instantly bringing his hands back to himself. "Sorry to interrupt."

Maka watched as Soul tried to slip off the bed nonchalantly, all nerves as if they'd been caught doing something that wasn't completely natural. She couldn't help a laugh, her hand reaching out to touch his before he got too far. "It's OK, Marie."

"Mira wanted to talk to Soul." Marie sidestepped from the doorway, waving him through.

Soul hesitated, his eyes falling back on Maka. She smiled softly, "Go ahead. I'm not going anywhere."

He snorted a laugh in reply before forcing his feet forward, disappearing through the door.

"So," Marie grinned.

Maka hesitated, a somewhat bashful blush started on her cheeks as Marie stared with that knowing smile. "So?"

"You two are awful cozy." Marie raised an eyebrow as she tested the waters, joyfully watching as the blush raised higher on Maka's cheeks. She closed the door behind her and made her way to the bed, sitting on the edge.

"You knew about that, Marie," Maka found herself oddly nervous. "Everyone knows, right?"

"Your father complains about it endlessly, so yes." Marie's laugh tittered in amusement as Maka rolled her eyes. "But… it's different to see you together."

Marie's tone dampened Maka's embarrassment, that anxiety tilting towards the side of fear. "A bad different, Marie?"

"No," Marie quickly corrected, taking one of Maka's hands. "Just a… well, I know you won't talk to Spirit, but have you maybe talked to your mother?"

"Mom?" It was barely a squeak but a word that drove a spike of guilt and loneliness into her heart. She hadn't called her, wouldn't, because the disappointment of not receiving an answer, of ever receiving an answer, was decidedly too much for her. Maka had rationalized that the next time Mom called she would tell her but, well, she was still waiting.

"Ah," Marie read between the lines, rubbing a thumb over Maka's knuckles. "Then do you might if I play Mom for a minute?"

Maka blinked at her, a reserved smile coming to her lips. "Sure, Marie."

Her tongue darted across her lips that pressed back together in thought long enough to carefully pick the next words. "Don't do anything you're not ready for, Maka. I know that you two _care_ about each other but… be careful, OK? You're both young, and young love can be wonderful but it can be dangerous."

It was a cryptic puzzle Marie had dropped in her lap and Maka wasn't necessarily able to really ask for the clarification. She was trying to unravel it in her head, but not only was she tired, suddenly feeling drained and exhausted from the conversation, but that word bit at her. _Care_. It was that tiny word that people throw around to be careful, but she'd already said she loved him. Albeit at the most inopportune moment and clarified as just the partner, best friend love, but what about now?

Careful about what? Her heart? And then the thought struck her, the blush flaring violently across her cheeks. Her body. That's a subject Spirit would never want to even come close to discussing and had her mom given her the birds and the bees talk? Not particularly, but she did know the health component of it thanks to those classes from Mira that all the girls got around the time they started _blossoming into women_ as the euphemism goes. "We haven't!" Maka blurted, her hand instantly pressing to her lips.

That was mostly correct since while Soul had fallen to touching, exploring, making her legs tremble with his fingers and mouth, they'd both agreed to wait on the final act. Granted, Maka was on birth control, mostly everyone at school was, but it had never been for the express purpose that Soul was going to… test its fortitude. The fact that Marie was having _the_ conversation with her seemed all too coincidental since Maka had been planning on the homecoming for this trip to be _the_ night. Then again, plans usually fell to ruin, and this one was no different, a hole in her gut definitely putting a damper on anything extra-curricular.

Marie was trying to smother a laugh with her hand, the obvious panic a wellspring of amusement for her. "Like I said, Maka, make sure you're ready."

Maka struggled for a reply as the door opened again, Soul striding in as if any conversation with Maka was something he was privy to, even though he would have died of embarrassment at Marie merely mentioning anything close to what had been said. "Maka, do you want to come home?" His voice was firm but he was grinning ear to ear.

Maka eyed him skeptically, "Of course, but what did Mira say?"

"She said I was being too pushy," Soul laughed, "But that it wouldn't kill you to go home tonight."

She rolled her eyes at his wording, unable to rein in the attitude in the next line, "It won't maim me or cripple me either, right?"

He shrugged before running his fingers gently over her cheek and through her hair. "I told you, I'll take care of you. I want to take you home."

Maka leaned into his touch, a helpless sigh escaping her lips. "If you insist."

"I do." Soul's quick movement stole the air right out of her mouth as he slipped his arms underneath her, pulling her out of the bed and into his arms. Her hand was separated from Marie's, desperately moving to clutch at his neck as if he would drop her.

"Soul!" Her shock dissolved into laughter. "Do you really think you're going to carry me the whole way home?"

"It's worth a try." And to Soul's credit, he did carry her all the way out of DWMA, caving only when Spirit insisted on driving them back to the apartment. But as soon as the car pulled to the front, he lifted her again, carrying her like a bride to the stairs.

"You don't have to-"

A less than playful grunt cut her off, Soul bouncing her in his arms for a moment to reposition his grip before starting up the stairs. Maka had to press a hand to her mouth to stop the laughter that wanted to trickle from her lips at the intense concentration on his face. A small part of her was hoping he'd give up, just let her make some slow and agonizing walk the rest of the way up the stairs but there he was, the same stubborn boy she'd fallen in love with. _Man,_ she corrected herself as she let a finger run along the fabric of his t-shirt, feeling the collarbone underneath.

"Soul, let me walk," she whispered.

His grumble came back instantly, "No."

She smiled even at his ridiculousness, knowing she'd soon win as they approached the door since there was no possible way to manage any more of this romanticism at a locked door. Without acknowledging his defeat, Soul eased her to her feet, leaning her against the wall next to the door. To her surprise, he didn't instantly go to open it, his hands coming to her cheeks, cupping them softly. "Don't do that again."

"What?" Maka murmured.

"Get hurt like that." He inched a little closer, his eyes darting for hers to her lips and back again, calculating his need to kiss her versus his need to talk.

A little rueful laugh passed between her lips, "You know that's impossible."

He sighed, "I know, I just…" Soul searched for the strength in a deep breath, his fingers flexing along her jaw. "It has to be you and me, Maka. I need to be there, I need to protect you."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence." Normally this teasing would work but she watched as his jaw tightened and a little tremble even ran along his lower lip. "I know…" She tried to soothe, pressing her hands to his chest just to feel the loud jumble of his wavelength beneath her fingers. There was a calamitous ball of energy in his chest and she tried to start unraveling it with her own soul.

"Maka," he grumbled as he let one of the hands from her face fall to cover one of her fists against his chest. "I love you."

She blinked at him as if those words weren't something that had graced her own lips months ago, finding herself in the same shocked place that Soul had been after their first night out. It shouldn't be surprising at all, really, to think his feelings had changed, had grown, but she still found herself breathless in the face of something that no one other than her parents had ever said to her and this certainly wasn't anything like _that_. For a second the word _why_ almost broke from her lips and she had to bite her tongue to keep it there. Instead, her brain finally filtered to something close enough but still appropriate, "You mean it?"

"Yes." He leaned in slowly, just barely brushing his lips against hers. "And not just partner love."

"Best friend?" Maka couldn't keep herself from the teasing.

"More than that," he tried to sound annoyed but she could feel the grin spreading across his lips as he pressed theirs together again.

Regardless of the weakness in her knees, not necessarily from the kissing but maybe a little the exhaustion of a body still healing, she let him have his fill of kissing her before letting her own whisper brush against his lips. "I love you, too."


	8. A Spark

Be ready for sexually explicit stuff along with a twist. I might be rushing through this one, so I apologize.

* * *

Soul was unbelievably, uncharacteristically gentle the first week. Sometimes he wouldn't take no for an answer, carrying her from here to there, sometimes a piggyback but mostly in his arms, her head resting delicately on his shoulder. While all of that was terribly romantic, it made Maka stir-crazy, leaving her battling him by the second week to let her be. It took convincing, but for the most part, she got him to refrain except for at bedtime when he would gently deposit her between the sheets before moseying back to his own bed.

That was even more infuriating, the fact that he refused to consider even staying in her bed. There was a logic to it since he wasn't exactly the most gentle sleeper, often tossing and turning in the face of nightmares and dreams alike. While using the excuses of avoiding reinjuring her and needing her rest had worked for that first week, Maka was more than tired of it by the second. It was the end of week two when as he rested her on the bed, Maka left her hands wrapped up in his shirt, forcing him to stay in the lean over her. "Soul."

"Maka." His hands reached for hers, doing a half-assed job of trying to get her to unravel her fingers.

She paused for a second before giving his shirt another tug. "Get undressed."

"Maka…" Soul sighed.

"You know I hate having to repeat myself," she murmured. "Get undressed."

"You're still hurt." His wandering eyes played against that statement, his hands slowly falling from hers.

Maka shook her head, "Barely."

"I don't…"

"You don't want to?" She offered, the playfulness in her voice sending him into a new kind of panic.

Soul frowned, "I always want to, but you shouldn't be, you know, exerting yourself."

"You do all the work," Maka smiled. She let go of his shirt, convinced at this point that he wasn't getting away. Without ceremony, Maka threw off her shirt, tossing it at him for emphasis.

"Maka," he groaned as he tossed her shirt aside. The complaint was short-lived as he watched her slide out of her clothes. "Stubborn," came as nothing more than a grumble as he began to undress, finally giving in. Secretly, one of his favorite parts was usually peeling each piece off of her himself, but even he had to admit that this was overdue, that he felt such a need for her that there wasn't an ounce of strength in him to resist. "Move over."

Maka did as she was ordered, letting him slip between the sheets next to her. Before he could even settle, Maka's lips were clamped against his, a firm, needy kiss forcing his lips apart. For a moment he kept his eyes open, making sure his hand planted firmly above her wound to set a boundary for himself. He used that hand to press her back against the bed, steadying her as he rolled onto his side to partially pin her there. Soul's hand glided along her skin, up from the top of the bandage to cup at her breast.

Their lips broke as she let a moan slip off her tongue as he pinched her nipple between his thumb and forefinger. "Soul, wait," she panted.

"Did I hurt you?" His hands instantly detached, his eyes opening to look over her.

"No," her hand came up to his cheek. "I just… Soul, you love me?"

"You know I do," he murmured.

"Then I want to." Her hand drifted down his side, gauging the look on his face.

"To what?" But as the words exited his lips the reality dawned on him. Soul brought his hand to her throat, holding her chin to keep her eyes on him. "Now? Maka, I'm going to repeat myself - you're hurt."

"And I'll repeat myself - barely." Her gaze couldn't falter, not while looking into those red orbs. "And I was thinking about it before all this happened and this probably won't make sense but I need it." Maka's hand snaked up into his hair and his eyes went half-lidded with the sensation, regardless of the seriousness he was trying to convey. "I… oh, it sounds so dramatic but Soul if I'm going to die I want to have this."

Everything about the moment deflated, his heart pressing into his gut as all of the fire fizzled from his veins. "You want to have sex with me because it checks something off a bucket list?"

"No," Maka frowned. "I told you it wouldn't make sense, it's just… You feel it, don't you?"

"Feel what?" Soul was bristling against his better judgment. She was right, he'd felt it as soon as he'd kissed her in that hospital bed, that need to feel like she was alive, like they both were.

"Soul…"

"Alright," he sighed. His hand fell from her neck and pressed back to her breast, his fingers tentatively stroking at the swell. "I… I want to but that feeling… Maka, maybe that's not the reason we should."

Maka lifted her leg, rubbing her knee against his hip. "Is that the only reason you want to?"

"There's a million reasons," he murmured as his hand slid over the bandage to her hip before it continued to meet her thigh. "But mostly because I love you."

"Then love me," she murmured.

He took a deep breath and all that could part his lips was "Fuck." Soul stared at her, his hand slowly pushing her knee so she could settle on her back. "I, uh, I have condoms in my drawer."

"I'm on birth control, too, so if you…" Giving him that kind of right seemed absurd but at that moment the only thing that felt necessary was his body next to hers.

"Let's play it safe." He leaned in and kissed her again, feeling that same strange urge she had just had, that the closeness was all that mattered. That worrying mind of his overruled though and he separated from her, making the walk that he tried not to turn into a mad dash to his bedroom to rifle through his drawer. It was a quick pick since Soul couldn't lie and say he hadn't been considering it, planning it, wanting it every time he did get to touch her between the sheets.

Soul brought back the wrapped condom tightly pressed in his palm and laid it on Maka's nightstand. As he crawled back into the bed he leaned over her on all fours, hands planted in the bed just above her shoulders. "Maka, I don't want to hurt you."

"You're not going to." Maka reached a hand up, her fingers playing at his cheek.

He studied her face. "If I do, you'll tell me."

"_If_, yes." Maka used that hand to guide his face to hers, enjoying the way not only his lips sunk down but his body as well, his skin always seeming to burn against hers. She had joked many times that it was the warmth of his body that made up for his usual coolness and apathy in the face of everything else. In a later moment of romantic drivel, years from now, Soul would say it was because his love for her was so strong that it burned through from his heart, but that was not now.

At this point, love was still new on their lips and while Soul had made sure that touching and pleasuring her was nothing new, this hunger for her was something else entirely. He didn't want to go slow, even with the nagging thought that her wound wasn't completely healed. The usual urge to savor each touch and taste of her skin was gone, replaced by that want to feel alive. Luckily for Maka, that didn't mean he was going to skip through the regulars.

Even though she clutched to him, fingers gripping tightly into his skin, Soul pulled himself away as he trailed kisses down her chest and stomach. His mouth didn't stay to play at her breasts but his hands filled the void, making sure to roll his fingers over the peaks, enough to elicit soft groans. He split her legs and his hands ran down the back of her thighs as his face dipped to press his tongue against her slit. The intake of breath from her as he dared to part it with his tongue brought a devilish smile to his face, multiplying that urge exponentially.

It wasn't a slow, deliberate lapping but a feast, Soul needily tonguing at her core. Maka made no call to slow down, just digging her hand into his hair to press him to her as she refused to resist the groans bubbling from her throat. He kept the intensity of the motions of his mouth as he pressed two fingers into her, feeling her hips tilt to meet the thrust. Between her gasping breathes he heard the soft moans of his name from her lips. It wasn't long before he felt her legs begin to tremble against his head, her hands releasing from his hair to clutch at the sheets since they'd found out the hard way before what those desperate fingers could do during her climax.

Soul relaxed for a moment, watching the contentment on her face as he rested his cheek against her inner thigh. After a few trembling breathes, Maka's hands grabbed at him with one hand while letting the other search without the aid of her eyes for the condom. Her fingers closed around the wrapping just as Soul climbed between her legs. "Maka… you're sure?"

"Are you?" She murmured back, opening the condom.

He nodded slowly before bringing his lips to hers. Soul lingered there before taking the latex from her fingers and leaning back on his heels. In theory, this step should be easy, but the nerves had his fingers fumbling and he had to toy with the edges, rolling it unsteadily up his shaft. He needed another deep breath, another lingering touch to her cheek before he planted his hand above her shoulder. Maka wrapped her legs around him, positioning him with her hand before tilting her hips giving him no choice but to slowly enter her.

Soul's other hand fell to her other shoulder with a rough sigh as he pressed deeper into her. The next breath came out as her name as he started the rock of his hips. The comfort was immediate, the feeling that she was entirely fine and alive beneath him. The strangest part was the surety, the way that at that moment he felt a kind of finality to them. He found himself murmuring to her, romantic nothings interrupted with woeful pleas. As his breathing strained, his rhythm fast and driving, Maka dug her nails into his back, another wave of bliss taking her unexpectedly.

The last thrust was accompanied by a rough begging of "Don't leave me" as he bent to hide his face in the crook of her neck.

"Why would I ever do that?" Her fingers ran through his hair, her lips catching just the edge of his ear.

Soul was slow to remove his face, that piercing vermillion of his eyes driving his words deeply into her heart. "You almost didn't have the choice this time," he murmured.

"And I might not next time." She tried to ignore the fall in his face, the disappointment in her lack of instant comfort. "But every time I can choose, it'll be you. You know that, Soul."

He sighed, "You think this'll ever be normal?"

"Sex? Sure," she laughed.

Soul started to roll off of her, the exasperation blossoming at her joke but quickly falling away as he reached down. "Shit, it broke." He started to peel the split latex off of him.

"I told you, it's alright." Maka slowly sat up examining the mess between her legs. "Can you grab a towel?"

Soul grumbled a few curses as he awkwardly tried to slip out of the bed without making more of a mess. He disappeared into the hallway and Maka laid back and listened to him rustle around the apartment as her mind traveled back to his question. What was normal for the two of them other than this? Ordinary seemed like nothing more than a comedy of errors for them, and if it wasn't going to be her injured again it would be him. A hole in her side or a slice from his armpit to his hip. That never changed, but they were and her mind started to race through the ways to explain that.

"Here." He rested the towel across her stomach, sitting on the bed but keeping his back to her. "Sometimes I'm jealous of the rest of the world."

"That's a lot of people to be jealous of." Maka's kept her amused smirk but her eyebrows furrowed as she worked to clean herself.

"You know what I mean," he grumbled. "Don't get me wrong, I'm…" he let a contented sigh break his lips, his hand snaking back and his fingers grazing her thigh. "I'm probably going to want to do that at least one more time today but I bet most of the rest of the world doesn't have to finish and instantly get back to wondering if that'll be the last time."

"They do, just for different reasons," Maka corrected as she finished with the towel. She crumpled it in her right hand while the left reached for him, taking those wandering fingers on her thigh and squeezing. "They worry about cheating or falling out of love, or a million other problems. Just maybe not gaping wounds." She came to her knees and pressed her chest against his back as her arms draped over his shoulders. "Soul, could you just stop for a minute and repeat that part that made you sound like you were happy for a second?"

"I'm happy, I swear," he murmured as he let his cheek rest against hers as it peeked over his shoulder. "And you just wait a few hours and I'll show you."

But his smirk was still half-hearted and Maka found herself no longer draping but clutching around his neck, pulling him closer. "I think they'd be jealous of us."

A rough laugh came from Soul's throat. "Why?"

Her hand drifted down his chest and rested over his heart. "I don't think anyone has loved anyone else as much as I love you."

Soul laughed again, holding on to her hand. "One: you might be a little bias. And two: I'll challenge that I maybe I do."

"Maybe?" Maka used her other hand to pull playfully at his earlobe.

"OK, OK, definitely." He batted the hand away from his ear as he turned in her arms, pushing her back on the bed. As her hair spilled across the pillow and he stared down at her, treasuring the smile and the vibrant glow of her eyes. "Definitely."

* * *

The wound in her side had healed to a pale pink blemish above her hip bone. And while the healing process had been nothing out of the ordinary especially as the antibiotic treatments ended, Maka had been benched from missions for the time being. The only action the two of them had been seeing, besides the almost daily forays in the bedroom, had been training exercises at DWMA, all of which Maka was forced to sit out of and watch as Soul practiced his single weapons combat.

While Maka would never necessarily admit it, she was in dire need of rest and a small nagging fear had started in her that perhaps that injury was more than it seemed. She found herself exhausted a little too often, sluggish even after what felt like a good night's sleep. Honestly, Maka was about a day or two away from seeing Mira when Kid sent word that practice at the very least was approved, and what real harm could that do? It was supposed to be a playful bout between Maka and Stein, Soul and her father, Soul taking great enjoyment in the opportunity to do something close to pummeling Spirit.

Instead, Soul's transformation ended just as soon as Maka called him, finding himself slipping from her fingers almost instantly. He just barely caught her, having to grab at the front of her shirt to turn her momentum so she fell on top of him rather than the dust of the training field. A grunt was the only thing that could escape his throat before Stein and Spirit overwhelmed him, stealing her name from his lips.

"What happened?" Spirit was quick to grab Maka from his arms, her limp body offering no assistance.

"We barely resonated and then this." Souls words didn't seem to matter, Spirit already rushing away with Maka bobbing in his arms. Stein held out a hand, getting Soul to his feet before the two of them followed after, each second of her lifelessness tearing at Soul's rationality. "Spirit!" The red-headed man didn't slow, didn't turn, just continued into the building, leaving Soul just about to break into a run to catch him before Stein put a firm hand on his shoulder.

"It's nothing," Stein's voice was level, unconcerned.

Soul tore his shoulder away but kept in step with Stein. "Stein, how can you-"

"She fainted," Stein sighed. "I'm sure there's a simple explanation."

"Fuck a simple explanation." His arms crossed his chest, but his voice lowered as he spoke through clenched teeth, "It has to be nothing, Stein."

"Like I said," Stein placed a firm hand on Soul's shoulder again. It was obvious where Spirit would take her and Soul let Stein drive him there, picking a decent speed and uninterrupted silence for the route. When the two of them entered the room Mira was already bustling about, Spirit leaning against the wall at the head of the bed.

"Nice of you to join us," Spirit spat.

Soul felt his teeth clack together as his jaw clenched but he kept the words off his tongue. "Mira, I thought she was cleared," Soul murmured when he got close enough.

"Has she had any symptoms?" Mira was holding Maka's wrist, timing her pulse as her question ended.

He was rewinding the past few weeks in his head, thinking of every small complaint she'd uttered. "She was feeling tired, some back pain, too, but she said that's because she was, well, about to get her period." Soul rubbed his hand at the back of his neck, sure Maka would kill him for divulging that information in a room full of people. It wasn't exactly his favorite subject either, but living with a girl since he was 14 had made him at least well-versed.

"Could just be some light anemia then," Mira shrugged. "Stein, can you take some blood?"

"Of course," Stein replied before disappearing behind the curtain.

Mira gently placed Maka's hand back down the bed, her eyes narrowing at Soul. "About to, or did?"

Soul blinked, "She didn't yet. Or not that I know…"

"As if you should know," Spirit growled. "Don't tell me you two are-"

"It's none of your business," Soul spat quickly.

"Spirit," Stein chided as he appeared again, gloved with tools in hand. "Please refrain from working up the room." Stein nudged Spirit out of the way, laying his tools on the bedside table. As he lifted Maka's arm to slip the band on her eyes fluttered open, her hand gripping his wrist.

"Don't," she murmured.

Stein tried to put on his best bedside manner smile. "Come on, Maka, I didn't think you were one to be afraid of needles."

"Maka," Soul and Spirit seemed to echo each other, both crowding at the bed.

"It's not that," she rested her head back against the pillow and closed her eyes for a moment. "Could you… Can I speak to Soul alone please?"

Spirit instantly occupied the space that Stein abandoned to fulfill her wishes, his hand taking hers. "I'm not leaving."

"Please, Papa," Maka's lip trembled and she had to bite it to create even a moment's stillness.

Spirit shook his head, "Whatever it is-"

Regardless of the weakness that pulled at her, Maka's voice boomed, "I need to speak to Soul."

Even Soul jumped, his eyes darting around to see the slow movement of the others in the room. Stein and Mira slid through the curtain, Spirit being the only one to take his time, to exchange looks between his daughter and Soul, to find that neither of them were at all focused on him. Instead, Soul was staring intently at Maka, waiting for the silence of the absence of people to move him.

As the curtain rustled the last time, Soul rushed forward, disregarding her possible fragility to pull her to sit up in the bed and so he could engulf her in his arms. "How bad is it?" he murmured as he tried to control the pressing of his fingers, to rein in the desperation in the way he wanted to cling to her.

"I don't know." Her laugh was halfway between bitter and broken, the threat of tears breaking her voice.

He forced himself to pull away from her, his hands moving to cling to hers. "Maka, please…"

Her eyes rolled to the ceiling, momentarily keeping the tears from leaking. She leaned in so the whisper would be caught before the edges of the curtain. "I'm… I think I'm pregnant."

"What?" There wasn't a possible way the word to compute in his mind. "How?"

"When we…" Maka had to gulp at the air, the tears starting to flow freely down her cheeks. "There was another soul when we resonated."

"But we… we were safe, we didn't…" While grasping at the memories of all their times together should have been soothing he found himself looking at each for error. As he cycled back to the beginning, his mind latched onto their first time, that tiny mistake that had been swept away with assurances. Not to mention the statistical likelihood of all this made his head spin. "There has to be something else." That seemed like the only real explanation, that all their woes usually sprung from this half mystical world that they lived in, not something mundane like a pregnancy scare.

"I'm sorry," she blurted. Her hands pulled away from his to clear away the tears that had started to overwhelm her cheeks. "I don't know how it happened and…"

"Sorry?" Soul reached out and brought a hand to the base of her neck, bringing her forward the few inches he needed to press their foreheads together. "This isn't a sorry situation, Maka. Take a breath, OK? We… we'll figure this out." His words didn't necessarily follow his thoughts, the neverending worries careening into each other in his brain. While they'd spent at least five years as partners it hadn't even been a year since they started exploring this side of their relationship, a thing that still held so many twists and turns and intricacies that he was struggling to learn each day. To throw a baby into that seemed to be asking for chaos.

Maka choked out a few more tears as Soul's thumb rubbed a soothing line along her jaw. When her breathing finally found some sort of normalcy she whispered, "Bring Stein back in."

"Just Stein?" Soul detached from her, getting a good look at those green eyes half clouded by tears.

"For right now." The command was slowly drifting back into Maka's voice and Soul just nodded in reply, getting up and pushing behind the curtain. Waiting for the two of them to return was an eternity and Maka found herself clutching at her stomach as if she could instantly find a change there. Her hand quickly slipped away as the curtain moved, Stein and Soul shuffled back to the side of her bed. "Will you do the blood test?" Maka displayed her arm, her eyes steady on Stein.

Stein didn't reply, simply rearranging his tools on the bedside table again. He discarded the gloves he had been wearing and opted for a new pair, giving the wrists an extra snap as he placed them on. Before he reached for the tools, he paused, eyes meeting Maka's. "Is there something in particular you think I'm looking for?"

Maka's eyes flitted to Soul's, seeing him jam his hands in his pockets as a warbling breath left his lips. What she wouldn't give for him to be right, for it to be something magical that could have some kind of fix instead of a heavy dose of reality. "Pregnancy."

Much to both of their reliefs, Stein didn't reply, simply going about his business. The click of the exchanging tubes in the syringe was the only sound in the room and it seemed to thunder in Maka's ears to the point she was sure she'd scream. "All done." Stein placed the materials back on the tray, taking a moment to lock eyes with Maka.

Maka tried not to blink out another fresh set of tears, her voice tight from the force of will. "Will you stay while I tell my dad?"

"Not Spirit," Soul started but as her eyes settled on him he saw the impossibility of the argument.

"We're not sure yet," Stein offered weakly, motioning towards the blood.

A weak smile pulled at the corner of her mouth, "I'll make sure to add the maybe."

The sigh was like gravel against his throat as Soul disappeared behind the curtain, jumping the gun on the order to get her father. He supposed Stein was there to stop any idiocy but Soul couldn't actually see that being any help. Spirit was great at putting his foot in his mouth and this moment wouldn't be any better. This was the last thing Soul needed and for a nasty moment, he wondered if she had even thought of him as she made that decision. Soul didn't bother saying his name, he just nodded as soon as he saw the red mop around the corner and turned back.

Maybe it was the obvious pain on her face, her in a hospital bed, or maybe the dried tears that were on her cheeks but the second that he saw her again the other thoughts melted away, leaving him with just that same old fanatical protectiveness that had become so common to him since they'd partnered together. He ditched standing on the sidelines and went straight for the bed so that he could sit next to her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and planting a delicate kiss at her temple just in time for Spirit to walk in.

Stein stood, leaving the tray where it was and moved to Spirit's side. "I'd like to temper this conversation with we are unsure of the real issue here."

"Stein, speak English, please," Spirit spat.

"Papa," Maka's voice trembled and Soul found himself pressing another kiss to her hairline, his eyes closing to channel all the love he could through his lips. "We don't know for sure but I think… I could be pregnant."

"What?" Spirit's voice hit a high note and Stein was quick to grasp at his elbow, keeping the other man from charging forward. "You can't. You two are… you're kids. You can't!"

_We're not kids!_ screamed in Soul's head, but he bit back on his tongue and he pulled her closer, feeling his head fall to his shoulder. Soul opened his eyes as she shut hers, forcing the tears out. He brought his other hand to her face, mostly to clear tears but also in a way to shield her. "We don't know for sure," Soul tried to adopt that Maka-command voice, the one that always got people to do things the way she wanted. "Let's just let Maka rest for now and Stein will-"

"You can't be serious," Spirit tugged against Stein, finding him unrelenting. He used his other hand to clear back his hair, staring between his daughter and Soul. "You're insane if you think you two having a kid is a good idea."

"Spirit," Stein's voice was ice against Spirit's ear. "Stop it now."

"She's my daughter," Spirit hissed back.

Stein barely let the words out above a whisper, "Keep talking like that and she won't be for long." He locked eyes with Spirit, willing him to let it go before turning his attention back to Soul. "Take her home. Maka, stay at home until I've brought you the results."

"What about-" Maka started.

"Stay at home," Stein reiterated. He managed to pull Spirit by the elbow, making a bit more of a path of the two out of the room.

Maka let her eyes fall to her lap as Soul detached from her, his hands moving to cup her face for a moment. "You can walk OK?" he murmured. She nodded and Soul slid off the bed, standing at the side as she slid her legs towards him. Soul waited impatiently as she got to her feet, letting a hand rest at the small of her back as soon as she was standing. "Let's go home."

"I'm not done." Spirit took another step but Stein yanked at him again.

"We are for now," Soul shot back, his chest already starting to heave.

Maka put her hand to his chest, slowing the building rage and leaving Soul to sigh instead of continuing in his fight. She moved her eyes back to her father, that weak smile back on her face. "Papa, you and I can talk about this tomorrow."

He shook his head, "Maka-"

"Tomorrow," she enunciated.

She didn't bother to look at his tight-lipped disapproval and instead let Soul urge her forward, taking advantage of the space that Stein had made for them. Even in the hallway and for the rest of the walk out of DWMA, Maka found herself unable to meet anyone else's eyes, hers only focusing on the hand that she had pressed to her abdomen, that strange expectation of some kind of obvious change coming back to her. Soul didn't interrupt, his hand staying stationary on her back as his voice refused to sound.

Silence and thought followed them the whole way home, into the apartment, and into their bed. It wasn't anywhere close to bedtime but Maka had crawled between the sheets as soon as they entered the bedroom and Soul didn't have the heart to leave her. He slipped behind her, his arm wrapping around her to pull her tightly to his chest. There wasn't any words he could offer, no embodiments of his thoughts that felt right to say at that moment. The only thing he could give was another squeeze before murmuring, "I love you."

"I love you," she whispered back, offering a heaving sigh as punctuation.

It wasn't long before he felt her breath even out, the exhaustion outweighing the worries in her mind. Soul wished he had the same problem and was slowly but surely coming to the realization that sleep tonight, or maybe for the entire week, would be thin at best. Those waves of uncertainties started to play across his mind, that poignant reminder that he wasn't perfect in all of this so how was he supposed to add being a father on top of that? He'd be terrible, he'd make mistakes, he'd fail, she'd learn to hate him. For fuck's sake, he'd probably end up just like Spirit.

That last thought worked against his worry, showing him the irrationality of his spiral. In the quiet of the broken wave of anxiety, Soul found his arm relaxing lower, his hand moving to cup the non-existent swell of her stomach. He feared she'd wake up but after there was no change in her breath he let his hand drift under her shirt, pressing lightly to the skin underneath. Soul tried to imagine something there, the little spark of a soul she must have seen and felt when they resonated. The thought was quick but it was loud: _I wish I could have seen it, too._

Amongst all the panic, all the worry for her and for the world they were still building, Soul had found a tiny bit of want, a modicum of joy at an insane prospect.


	9. Words of Wisdom

Maka woke to the warmth of the late afternoon, feeling him still burning away like a furnace behind her. Her first thought should have been back to the panic of the morning but it was the sensation of his hand still pressed to her stomach that overwhelmed any other thing in her mind. There must have been a thousand times when this was the position they fell into, that this was in no way out of the ordinary or deliberate but as she placed her hand over Soul's, she felt his fingers flex. "Maka…"

"Did you fall asleep?" His hand refused to budge even as she tried to intertwine her fingers in his.

Soul propped himself up on his elbow, leaning in so he could kiss at the edge of her cheek. "Not really." Maka rolled on her back, finding that hand following, grounded her into the bed as it caressed that imaginary swell.

She stared up at those deep, wine-colored eyes that already seemed to be searching for answers as if she was better qualified than him in this situation. "Soul, I need you to try something."

"What?" He blinked down at her, considering the seriousness on her face, the lack of even a speck of the warm smile he was used to.

"Don't think." He let his fingers drift up to her stomach, her hand following over top of his better than he was following her thoughts. "Don't think about all of it and just ask yourself if you want to have a baby with me."

"I don't know." The words were like sandpaper against his throat. "I can't just turn all the rest of it off. If it was five years from now or-"

"Try," she pleaded. "Think about just you and me. Forget my parents, even your parents, and all the rest of it. You love me and I love you and maybe this us is new but we've been together, working through all the problems for years already."

"Maka, are you saying…?" He expected some kind of grin of resolve but her face was still tight, her eyes searching his face.

"I…" her throat clicked dryly as she swallowed, "I don't want you to think I'm not scared but… I don't want to cry about it anymore. I want to panic but I want to try at the same time. I want to have faith in us."

Soul wanted that to be enough, to feel like those words were the only salve he needed for the fear, the uncertainty. At the same time, a terrified part of him was holding on to the delirium that there was a chance that nothing could ever be alright again. "I still don't know."

Maka turned her eyes to her hand, refusing to let any other thoughts into her head except for that last line. _I want to have faith in us._ She repeated it a few more times through shaky breaths before meeting his eyes again. "I know I don't have to ask you to think about it," she murmured.

He sighed and achingly removed his hand from her stomach, bringing it up to her cheek and letting it drift into her hair. "I can't stop thinking about it… but whatever we do, we do it together."

"Together," she let out with a sigh as he collapsed into her. Soul hid against the comfort of her chest, feeling the rise and fall of each breath. Maka let him stay for a few more minutes before patting her back. "Time to get up."

"Why?" he murmured, clutching at her as if to negate the order.

"I want to eat," she laughed. "Plus, staying in bed isn't good for either of us."

His fingers loosened enough to pull away, slowly sitting up in bed and running a hand through his hair to smooth some of the bedhead. "Pizza sound good?"

At least that could bring a smile to her face, "Yes, please."

He stood but hesitated at the edge of the bed, his eyes slowly moving back to hers. "You good if I go out and get it?" It felt wrong to ask, but he was sure he was going to need these little moments alone with his thoughts.

"Sure," she shrugged. Maka rolled off the edge of the bed, stretching her arms over her head. "I think I'm going to shower."

Soul moved to her side of the bed and pulled her close enough that he could lean to kiss her cheek. "Take your time." He got a smile in reply as Maka walked past him and disappeared into the hallway. Soul followed until he turned the opposite direction to reach the phone. He called in the order as he listened to the shower hum down the hall. As he put the receiver back in its spot he hesitated, picking it back up and dialing again.

"Hello?" Stein was quick to answer.

He had to swallow before speaking, unsure if he was even going to keep up the receiver. "Stein, it's Soul."

There was a pause before, "Everything alright?"

"I, uh…" His fingers gripped at the wood of the table underneath the phone, feeling the grains under his fingernails. "Is there… is there something I can get her, you know, to make her feel better, or if she is… does she need something?"

Another pause as Stein pieced Soul's nervous words together in his mind. "Remember, nothing is for sure, but it won't hurt to get her prenatal vitamins. Get them from the pharmacy. Anything else, well, that's for later, when we know."

"Yeah, sure, alright," Soul mumbled as he repeated the instructions in his head. "How long, Stein?"

"A few days. I suppose if you're anxious you could get those home tests, but they may be ineffectual, depending on the timeline." Stein cleared his throat. "Just get the vitamins, Soul."

Soul nodded as if Stein could see it. "Thanks, Stein."

"Take care, Soul." The line clicked.

He hung up slowly, trying to control his breath and his heart as it skipped around in his chest. Sitting and waiting at home was overwhelming so he moved to the bathroom, knocking softly, "I'm going now, OK?"

There was a pause as if she hadn't heard him but then her voice rang out loud and clear, "Come in for a second."

Soul did as he was told, wandering into the steamy bathroom to see her face peeking out of the curtain, small tendrils of dampened hair framing it. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, just…" Her hand came out and grasped at his shirt, pulling him close enough that she could latch her lips to his. Soul felt complete reprieve at that moment, no thoughts other than the steady soothing of her love crossing his mind. He didn't think twice as he slipped his hand into her damp hair, keeping her from getting away, refusing to let this be some soft peck. It wasn't until her hand unclenched to pat his chest that he got the message, finally giving her space. "I needed that."

"Me, too," he murmured before extracting his hand, wiping the dampness away on his pant leg. "I'll be back soon."

Maka smiled in reply and closed the shower curtain, the soft splattering sound of the water starting again as it hit her skin.

A part of him wanted to stay, wanted to climb into that shower with her and just love her, since that was often the chain reaction in his mind when he kissed her. This time it was more than that and he was keenly aware now how much he relied on her to comfort him, to bring any and all of his tumultuous thoughts to rest. With that kiss, her wanting it, he wondered if he was doing the same or doing enough of the same for her. It settled into him that he not only needed to but he wanted to so desperately.

This was surprisingly the majority of his thoughts as he left the apartment and began walking down the street to the center of town. He had assumed the baby or he should say the possibility of the baby should have been first and foremost but instead he found himself picking through their day to day, how much she did for him versus how much he did for her and finding an unsettling (and unknowingly biased) conclusion that he was lacking on most fronts. As he searched through the aisles of the pharmacy, obviously not well-versed on the arrangement of vitamins since his last were probably Flintstone shaped, a firm promise was being made in his mind: he was going to do better, baby or no baby.

With that thought no longer acting as a distraction and this time still his as he walked to the pizza shop, his mind focused on the possibility it had been avoiding. A baby had definitely never been anything he had even remotely contemplated. Well, that wasn't entirely true, he'd held Stein's daughter, Maggy when she was little and had the totally pleasant experience of being spit-up on while doing so. He distinctly remembered thinking at that moment that this was never going to be in his future, because what cool guy wants to smell like spoiled milk all the time, but that had been when he was what, 15? Had three years really changed that?

And that was also Pre-Maka, not pre-partnership but pre-falling head over heels in love with her. That was before knowing what it was like to feel your existence validated by the care and consideration of someone else on a regular basis. Selfishly, it all seemed to revolve around his greatest fear: losing her, not through battle or blood but through the simple reality that relationships could end. Theirs had seen some stress, Maka's jealousy and his sometimes complete ineptitude at keeping his overactive brain in check, but overall there had been nothing earth-shattering. This had the potential to be that last bit of weight that tipped the scale.

He didn't know the specifics, but Maka's mom and dad had been young, technically the same age as they were now, when it had happened to them and look where they were. Again, drawing that comparison between Spirit and himself made Soul snap out of it, his defiance at being anything like that man setting his mind on the path away from using Maka's parents as the comparison. But he ultimately worried that his mind kept going back to that, back to the similarities of that doomed relationship.

Instead, as he grabbed the pizza and started making his way back to the apartment, his mind settled on Marie and Stein. As far as he'd known, they'd dated as teens but not much, and when they were finally together as adults it hadn't been that long before Marie got pregnant. They'd been more linked by work than by romance by the time Maggy came along and, honestly, Soul couldn't think of a better example of a healthy relationship. OK, yes, putting the word "healthy" in the same sentence as Stein rarely ever worked, but there was no other way to describe the bond he saw on a regular basis between the two, really, the three of them.

If Stein could make it work, didn't he have a chance? Soul clung to that thought the rest of the walk up the stairs. He stopped at the door, starting the juggle of keys, bag, and pizza to try to open the door. Thankfully, it was Maka, who had been waiting in her own anxiety-filled thought process, that opened it for him. She made way for him, and he squeezed into the hallway and down to the living room, placing the box on the usual take-out spot on the coffee table. The bag was the only thing left in his hands when he felt Maka's arms wrap around him, tightly hugging him from behind.

Soul cleared his throat, "I got you something."

"Something sweet?" Maka whispered into the back of his shirt.

Soul had been smart and also bought some candy at the pharmacy, something to perhaps soften the blows of today. "Yes, but something else, too." He pulled at her fingers to loosen her arms and she acquiesced, her hands falling to his hips as he turned in her arms. "Stein said that maybe you should take these." Soul couldn't force himself to look at the reaction on her face and instead focused on the bottle as he turned the label to her.

"Oh," her voice was small and breathy. Maka took the container from his hands and cradled it in hers. "When did you talk to Stein?"

"While you were in the shower," it felt hard to say, almost dishonest in his honesty. "I… I was hoping you'd at least physically feel better, you know?"

"Thank you," her voice warbled and he looked at her just in time to see a few tears fall down her cheeks. "I made myself a liar, I said no more crying about it."

"You said you didn't want to cry about it," Soul corrected as he cleared the tears from her face. "Doesn't mean you can't. Don't be so hard on yourself."

"Yeah," she murmured and the weakness of it made Soul close his arms around her, smushing the bottle between the two of them as he hugged her close.

He squeezed her like that for a few long breaths before releasing her with a kiss to the forehead. "Come on, pizza's getting cold." Maka slipped out of his arms and sat down cross-legged at the table. "Need water?"

Maka stared at the bottle in her fingers again as if the cover would give her the simple answer to that question. "Yes, please."

Soul wandered to the kitchen, pouring her a glass of water and taking two plates from the cabinet. Each one of these tasks wasted time and gave him the breaths he needed to go back to her as the cool Soul if that was even possible. He plodded back to the coffee table, taking his designated spot next to her and breathed in the crave-inducing scent as she opened the lid of the box. She took the plates and filled his before hers, resting both back on the table before turning her attention to opening the vitamins. He watched her carefully as if it were a herculean task, stripping away the plastic and taking out the cotton ball from the mouth of the container.

He didn't resist the urge to hold her, throwing an arm around her shoulders to pull her to him. Maka reached in and pressed a pill between her fingers, displaying it to him. "They're _huge_."

This he could laugh at, especially the way her eyes bugged slightly at the thought of swallowing it. "You're a big girl, you can do it."

Maka rolled her eyes comically in reply before putting the pill on her tongue and chasing it with a gulp of water. "Ugh," she grimaced at him for added effect.

"A little dramatic there," Soul snickered as she pushed him away, giving him his arm back for his food.

"Maybe you want to take one?" She closed the lid before tossing it at him, only laughing at the way he fumbled to catch it at his chest.

_I'm not pregnant _didn't seem like the kind of playful reply he should make so he clamped his lips shut, dropping the container to the tabletop. He handed her the remote, sure that if any day should be her pick it should be today, and started digging into his pizza. She flicked through the channels before finding something mildly interesting and leaned into him as she began to eat. Probably for a million different reasons, she felt the intense need to just be touching him, even if it made eating a little awkward for both of them. Soul didn't complain.

* * *

Maka tried to wake him as gently as possible. Their normal sleeping positions were removed, usually just Soul's arm draped over her or his hand clinging to a little bit of skin but last night he had wrapped himself in her. How he wasn't suffocating in her hair was beyond her, his face so close that she could feel his breathing on her neck. His arm was tightly wound around her middle, pulling her against his chest with no hopes of getting free. "Soul," she murmured again, running a hand over his forearm, hoping for some kind of stir.

There was a grunt and his hand flexed, absently caressing her breast and making Maka sigh contently in reply.

"It's time to get up," Maka added before trying to turn a little in his arms.

Instead of resistance, she found help, his arm creating a forward momentum that turned her all the way to him, her face now meeting those bleary red eyes. "Why?" he groaned before latching a leg around her, pulling her hips to meet his.

She didn't want to ruin the intimacy of the moment since she was almost sure they were flowing towards one of those morning trysts and he was seconds away from beckoning her into a million lingering kisses, but there was a promise that had been made for today that put a damper on any of her other wants. "Spirit's coming over, Soul."

That playful little fire in his eyes fizzled, his grip not so tight as the reality came back to him. "Yeah," he muttered. _To talk about the baby_, his mind added, strangely leaving the _if there's a baby_ absent.

Maka caressed his cheek, hoping that would soften the next set of words. "I think you should go to school today."

"What?" All his sleepiness was gone, his mind now frantic with the insinuations. "You're kicking me out of the conversation?"

The nasty little first instinct to lie reared its head but she pushed it away, "Well, yes."

"Why?" He could feel the heat coming to his face and he tried to cool it with a long breath.

"I'm not making any decisions without you, but Spirit and you…" The words didn't come easily, the way to describe the bumping of heads from day one of their partnership without sounding accusatory.

The trailing off didn't help and Soul could feel his stomach turning into a knot. He forced himself to stay in her arms, to not pull away rashly like his brain was urging. "Is it because of what I'll say or what he'll say?"

"Definitely what he'll say." She ran her fingers across his cheek again, letting them flow into his hair. "And I don't think I can stand to see you hurt."

"I _am _hurt. Right now," he tried to keep it from being a bellow, just falling short of a groan through gritted teeth. "You're telling me I can't be in a discussion that matters to _us_."

She shook her head. "It doesn't. It doesn't matter what Spirit says, not to me, but I know he's going to say things today that will hurt me or should hurt me, and I know that will hurt you, Soul, and I can't stand the thought of what you'll do."

A sharp _tsk_ came from his mouth, his body pushing against hers and pinning her to her back, his weight pressing against her. "That's not fair."

Maka was surprised at how welcome the pressure was as if fixing her to him made up for the unhinged feeling of the past few days. "No, I know I'm not being fair. I'm being selfish. I want you to go to school, and I want you to never know what Spirit says to me, and I want you to come home today and just hold me and tell me we're going to be alright."

Soul's hand moved from her skin to the sheets, clutching desperately into them until his knuckles turned white. "This whole thing… all of it makes me feel so powerless and I hate it."

"Me, too," Maka murmured. Her hand found his and unclenched it to bring it back to her face and guiding him back to the soft touches she needed.

He sighed, giving in and caressing her, her face, her neck, anywhere he could find skin. "I'll do what you want, as long as you'll agree to one thing."

"What is it?" Some of the anxiety was drifting away, shooed by his soft, lingering fingers.

"I get me not getting it first hand." His hands were in her hair and he tried to focus on how much he loved that feeling. "But I want you to tell me what Spirit says when you're ready."

"Why?" Maka sighed.

"Because I want to tell you how wrong he is," there was a strong demand in his voice that Maka rarely heard, that was saved for when she was making a mistake and he needed to put his foot down. "Why he's wrong because I can pretty much guess now what he's going to say and I _know_ it's all bullshit. We're strong, Maka. We get shit done and regardless of what this is we'll get a handle on it, too."

Maka felt every nerve in her body light up, the tears instantly starting in the corner of her eyes. This was Soul, steady, level-headed, and ready for almost anything and he was _sure _at that moment. There was no hesitation from him and she could actually feel herself believing it, not just wishing it was true. "OK, Soul."

"Then I'm going to school," he huffed. "But not before this…" He planted a firm kiss on her collarbone, followed by another lingering up towards her neck as his hands were endlessly on the move. His words were one thing, but there was no denying the truth in his touches.

* * *

Soul could not possibly view this as anything other than a punishment, but he kept trying to frame it as keeping him from punching Spirit's lights out which would probably not be Maka's favorite thing. The other students in weapon's class weren't exactly helping, especially with all the sideways glances and whispering lips to ears. Everyone knew Maka had fainted. Everyone knew that she was on leave again. While he hadn't heard any whispers of the correct reasoning behind this, rumors were starting to form and a dark, brooding Soul did nothing more than add to this.

Of course, the beatings he doled out during class were another easy indicator and after sending a second-year flailing to the mat he felt a hand close around his bicep. He turned quickly, ready for whatever fight was next, but came face to face with a scowling Liz. Soul's anger started to wither under her stare. "Hey, Liz."

"We should talk."

Soul shrugged, "Kind of busy with class right now."

Liz had that mom look down pat, the one that spoke volumes of "not taking your shitty excuses" and "oh, that's cute" all rolled into one. She added a decided raise of her eyebrows and a silence that made Soul squirm.

"Alright," he caved with a sigh, following helplessly as the taller girl started walking towards an empty side of the room. This didn't seem private enough at all and he started to calculate what he could and would say as he watched her hair swish back and forth.

They hit the wall and Liz turned, letting Soul face the wall to negate at least the nosiest from lip-reading. "That wound still bothering Maka?"

"No." Soul winced as Liz planted her hands on her hips. "She fainted."

She rolled her eyes before letting them fall with a deadly focus on his face. "Yeah, I know _that_. What I want to know is _why_, especially since you look scared."

He sucked his teeth in reply, trying to exude that cool guy air he had almost perfected. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Cut the shit, Soul," she spat. "Maka is my friend, too."

Soul sighed, "Look, I can't talk about it. Not here and not without Maka."

"So it's that serious?" Liz whispered and he was surprised to see her lip quiver.

"She's not dying or anything." Soul awkwardly raised his hand, patting it on her shoulder. "Just… give her a few days."

Liz was trying to read him like a book in Latin, her eyebrows furrowing. "And how many days should I give you?"

"Like I fucking know." He let his hand fall from her and rubbed it across his face, trying to erase whatever Liz was seeing in him and look something close to normal.

Liz sighed, letting the hands from her hips slide around her waist to hold herself. "Maybe you should go home. You're definitely no good here."

"Can't. Maka's orders," Soul grumbled.

Liz didn't stifle her laugh, "Remind me to tease you about being whipped when you're in a better mood." She moved towards him, using her hand on his shoulder to turn him in the direction of the door. "Well, if you can't leave the building at least find someone your own size to pick on. I'm sure Stein would love to beat the shit out of you."

"Yeah, Stein." Soul gritted his teeth until he could force it into a smile. Maybe an actual fight would help but it wasn't really a brawl he wanted from Stein, it was answers. "Cover for me, I guess."

"No one's going to miss you, especially with the ass-kickings you were handing out." Liz nudged his shoulder away. "Send Maka my love."

"Sure." Soul sent a wave over his shoulder before shuffling out the door. Stein was usually easy to find, always holed away in his lab when not actually at home but as Soul entered it was empty. He shuffled around for a little, wasting time in hopes that Stein had just stepped away for a moment. As Soul sat in Stein's infamous chair, it squeaking boldly in protest, he contemplated his next move while memorizing the ceiling.

"Bored?" Suddenly Soul was eye to eye with those pale green orbs, causing him to falter and clutch at the chair desperately.

"Fuck!" His cry was accented by the crash of the chair to the floor, the metal digging into his back as he bounced off of it.

Stein chuckled with genuine amusement, grasping Soul by the front of his shirt and bringing him to his feet. "Aren't you supposed to be in class?"

"Can't," Soul grumbled as he rubbed at his spine. "And don't tell me to go home. Maka make me swear I'd stay here."

"So you visit me?" Stein released him before moving for the chair, tilting it back to its original position.

Soul gave up on his back, moving to jam his hands in his pocket. "I… I need to ask you something."

"Ask away." With a flourish, Stein slid into his chair, giving it a quick spin.

Asking away would be easy if Soul had actually known what it was he wanted to ask, or more precisely the exact thing he wanted to ask. There were a million questions that had built in his brain since the minute Maka said pregnant and he needed relief. "How?" It came out half-choked and he realized he was crying but had no ability to stop it. "How do I make sure she's alright? How do I keep us together? How can _I_ be a dad? Because I look at my dad, I look at Spirit, and I know what it is to fuck up your kid and I don't even have one yet but I'm just sure, so sure it's going to be me that ruins it."

The little bit of amusement never left Stein's face and as Soul finished with an agonizing sigh, Stein let out a short chuckle. "It's good you're scared."

"What?" Soul spat back.

"If you weren't, if you were sure you'd be fine which is an attitude I've seen from you many times, I'd worry." Stein leaned towards his desk, eyes examining Soul as he found a comfortable place to prop himself up on his elbow. "You know I can't answer most of these, but I'll give you what I do know. With medical advancements and our own special facilities, there's little worry about whether Maka will be alright, not to mention I know you will be watching her carefully."

"The other two…" Stein's enjoyment of the moment finally faltered, a sigh parting his lips. "Asking those questions are important. Generating your own answers to them, even more important. The only thing that I can offer, the only wisdom, is to _try_ which you already seem intent on doing. You try to keep the thoughts of 'what does Maka need' and 'what does the child need' first in your mind and you hope that Maka does the same. But I'd like to correct that last part, Soul. From what I've studied about you, ruining things isn't exactly within your skillset, but worrying about it definitely is. Try not to let your doubt be too loud in your mind."

"But I'd also like to warn you that you're ahead of yourself," the devious smile came back to Stein's face. "It'll be at least two more days before we know for sure."

Soul shrugged, "But she said there was another soul, and I trust her."

Stein chuckled again before turning his chair, bringing his back to Soul. "If you don't have any more questions, I think I should get back to work."

"One more," Soul croaked as he cleared the tears from his face. "I'm not trying to be rude, I guess, but were you ready? Were you and Marie ready when you found out about Maggy?"

Stein leaned back in his chair, speaking more to the ceiling than to Soul. "Marie wasn't even part of my plan back then. I was very sure I was not ready for her and I was not ready for our child but I've learned and continue to learn. I try. Each day that seems to be enough." Stein's head snapped back forward with a laugh. "It was easier for Marie since she's, well, Marie after all. In the end, I'm not sure anyone is entirely ready."

Soul was trying to dissect each word, making tentative connections to himself and Maka, his mind now more tumultuous than before the questions came out. "Thanks, Stein." He turned for the door, unsure of where he was even going to go because all of him was screaming to go home and hope that Maka could quell his mind in the way she always did.

He was almost out the door when Stein cleared his throat. "Maybe one last thing, Soul."

Soul stopped on a dime, throwing his head over his shoulder. "Yeah?"

"Don't compare yourself to anyone else," this was a forceful order from Stein, a classroom and battlefield tone that Soul was used to but it still sent him into disequilibrium. "You're not your father, or hers, or even me. You don't follow in anyone else's footsteps."

The tears were burning at his eyes again, those words wiping the slate clean of all the others and emblazing themselves in bright text in his heart. "Thanks, Stein," he warbled again before continuing out the door, hiding his tears in the shadows of the corridor.


	10. The News

The moment of truth is here. Some of you might not like this. I will admit I'm going to end up going the SUPER ANGSTY route. Be prepared. Also, I named Maka's mom since there's no definitive name for her on the books (which is so weird, why?).

* * *

Soul hadn't exactly timed it perfectly, finding himself coming face to face with Spirit in the stairwell. A better man would have been able to walk past him wordlessly, but at this point, Soul was a man who was barely older than a teenager with a lot on his mind.

Spirit had paused at the top of the stairway, his hands digging into his pockets while eyeing Soul cooly. "Soul-"

But there was no stopping the eruption of words from Soul's mouth, better judgment or no. "I'm not you!" That sounded a bit too much like a tantrum to his ears so Soul corrected his voice, avoiding the shouting but keeping the husky grumble, "I'm not anything like you. We both can admit to that, I think, and I don't want to be compared to anyone else, either. Maka and me are just that, Maka and me."

Spirit narrowed his eyes before taking a few steps down, actually bringing himself to Soul's level. "OK."

The lack of distance was unnerving along with the fact that there was not some screaming objection from Spirit. "I'm going to try to be a good dad, and good to her, too."

This gave Spirit pause, his teeth playing at his lower lip before he paused for a deep breath. "I don't doubt you'll try."

"But?" Soul spat out, forcing the words that Spirit was neglecting to say.

"Like I said, you're _kids_. She's barely eighteen and…" Spirit shook his head to cut off his own words. "Look, I gave this speech today and I'm too tired to do it again. But, at the end of the day, Maka's going to choose her own way, regardless of what I say, and I know that but you… _you _be careful."

"Is that a threat?"

"I'm her father, of course that's a fucking threat," Spirit threw another sigh in for good measure before continuing past Soul and starting for the next set of stairs. He got about halfway down before turning his head back, a deep frown gracing his face. "For the record, we aren't anything alike, you and me, and that's the only reason I haven't kicked your ass."

_Not for lack of trying_, Soul barely kept from muttering under his breath. He was sure replying would only end in something worse so he kept the trudge up the stairs, improving the distance between them with each step. Soul quickened his pace and anxiously juggled his keys in his hands as he hit the hallway where a walk turned into a jog. Turning the key in the lock became a hardship, the worry about her starting to blossom in his mind as if this were a battle he'd left her alone for. "Maka?" came as a desperate call as soon as the door opened.

"Good timing," she chimed from the kitchen along with the sound of clinking cups. Soul couldn't stop the rush, his feet moving him faster than a walk into the room. She had two mugs out on the counter and was sprinkling loose tea in the pot. "Tea's almost ready."

Her face was a little puffy, the tear stains mostly cleared away before he'd gotten there but he found himself coming to her to rub his thumbs over whatever he found left before firmly planting a kiss on her forehead. "We're going to be alright."

A shot of air that was only remotely close to a laugh left her mouth. She let her hands fall away from the pot and touch to his chest, her fingers playing with the fabric of his t-shirt. "You sound sure."

"I just… I'm going to promise you right now that I'm going to try." Soul cleared some of the hair from her face, feeling a little more surety as her eyes came to his filled with that searching hopefulness. "Maybe I haven't been the best at this but I'm going to keep trying. So tell me what you need and I'm going to do it the best I can if I can."

Maka sighed sweetly, a slow smile coming to her face. "Who's been telling you you're not the best?"

"Come on, Maka," he groaned back but she shook her head.

"You're a great partner, and I have even fewer complaints about you as a boyfriend." Maka contemplated it for a moment but gave in, tilting her chin up just enough to meet his lips. Soul received it happily, that hand in her hair anchoring her to him just enough to turn Maka's peck to one of Soul's lingering kisses. When she was able to breathe again it was another contented sigh. "But I appreciate the promise and want you to know it's not just me, OK? You need stuff, too, and I want to do what I can."

"We're a team," he murmured through the growing surety of his smile.

"Always," she grinned back before letting her attention turn to the hot water bubbling on the stove. After slipping a glove on her hand she grabbed the kettle, bringing it to the counter to pour the water over the leaves in the pot. She concentrated on the way they billowed in the water, turning it an amber color. "I know I promised to tell you, but can it wait until tomorrow?"

He waited for her to put down the kettle before settling reassuring fingers on her hips. "It can. Instead, let me tell you about how annoying today was since everyone was missing the hell out of you, me included, but Liz especially."

Maka's hands came to her face, pressing in her cheeks. "Oh, Death, what am I going to tell them?"

Soul couldn't help but laugh at her face even as he got a frown in return. "_We'll_ tell them when we know. What? You think you'll get kicked out of the friend group because of a baby?"

"No, but…" Maka grumbled, "We're the responsible ones."

He managed to keep the laugh muted to a snort just to keep her from killing him. "Says you. Though, I will admit that I wouldn't peg us as the first to have this kind of accident." The next words tumbled from his mouth without much mental preamble, the ease coming from the truth of it all. "But you as a mom, that doesn't surprise me in the least."

"What?" A thin blush spread across her cheeks. "Seriously, me?"

"Yes, you." He mentally tried to mute his own embarrassed blushing and failed miserably, instead trying to hide it by leaning in to plant a kiss on her neck.

Maka let out a pleasant, contented hum.

Soul wanted to wrap himself up in that noise, this feeling, but the reality of the morning was eking through no matter how hard he fought against it. This was the part where he swallowed it back up, clamped it down and just kept moving forward, trying to hide it somewhere in that cesspool in the back of his mind. But was that trying? Was that what either of them needed: him to be strong on the outside but eroding from within? The words felt like muck in his mouth but he loosed them anyway. "I'm just scared about me."

"You?" The jovial quality of her voice and the moment had dissipated and that ugly old fear that he had ruined everything was starting to rear in him until he saw her face. Maka had turned slowly, face upturned in one giant question with eyebrows knotted in extra thought but her eyes weren't brimming with fear or concern, not feeding into him. "About you being a dad?"

"Yeah," it came out as a weak wheeze.

Maka studied him for a moment, her hand touching to his chest at the spot she knew so well, even with his shirt on. "I get it, it's scary. Even hearing you say you think I'd be good as a mom, I can't help but feel a little of the opposite. I'm impulsive, we both know that, and would that be good for a baby?" He wanted to open his mouth to correct her but she didn't give him the time, just sucking in another breath before laughing the rest out. "But that's where you come in, right? Mr. Worries-about-everything. Maybe it's not just about who you are, but maybe it's what _we_ are, and what we bring out in each other that makes it doable."

"We're a team," he found himself repeating.

"Always," she echoed but that intense stare didn't dissipate and Soul found himself squirming.

"What?" it took everything he had not to make it an anxiety-filled groan.

Maka finally seemed to shrug it off, patting him on the chest. "That was big, Soul."

He grimaced at what to him seemed another vague comment. "What?"

"I'm used to twisting your arm." Maka suddenly seemed to remember the tea, spinning out of his arms in order to arrange their cups and pour the over-steeped liquid. "I feel like that usually would have taken at least a week to get out of you, maybe longer, and even then it wouldn't just be offered to me."

"Yeah," he was slowly deflating, hating the truth in her words. Closed, guarded, that was exactly how he was used to operating and the fact that even _she_ felt like that was the norm stung. He thought with knowing, admitting that he loved her his heart would suddenly fly open. Maybe it had, but his mouth certainly hadn't. The little hitch in her breath as she pressed her hand to her mouth didn't help, finally realizing it wasn't the tea that had spurred her to turn her back but the tears she was trying to hide. "Maka, come on, I'm sorry…"

"Don't be," she laughed back as she cleared her face. "It's… it's good, I'm happy. I'm not crying because you did anything wrong." The smile on her face was what melted it all away, the sunshine through the rain of her own tears. "You're doing exactly what you said, true to your word like always. You're trying."

* * *

This had become the time of waiting for phone calls. Maka found herself often pausing in the hallway as if standing there would will it to ring. It was supposed to be today, and Soul had demanded, without any actual push-back, that he stay with her at home. Overall, much to Maka's surprise, he'd been well-behaved, not hovering, and for the most part calm, only pacing for a short portion of the morning until Maka forced him into his headphones.

That was where he stayed, head in her lap with eyes closed as Maka flipped through page after page of her book, barely retaining the story through the commotion in her mind. Maka was about to break the comfort for the sake of maybe eating something when clangor of the phone drilled into her ears. What she thought was going to be tap ended up as more of a slap against his chest and Soul jolted up, ripping off his headphones in the process. The ring came again and he was almost halfway across the room before she called, "Let me get it."

Soul froze, letting her move past him before keeping time behind her, one hand grasping the back of her shirt at the small of her back. He tugged just as she was picking up the receiver. "Maka, I love you."

"I know," she smiled softly at him over her shoulder before moving the receiver to her ear.

The connection was grainy but the voice was still clear enough. "Maka?"

She staggered a little in reply to the voice, her back bumping against Soul's chest as he wrapped an arm around her to steady them both.

"You OK?" Soul whispered.

"Mom?" Maka finally squeaked.

"Yes, darling," it was that same cooing voice, smooth like honey that Maka remembered from bedtime stories. "Spirit called me."

There was a flood that was threatening to break from her heart and then her mouth, a wash of longing swirled with fear, begging followed by vitriol. "Oh," was all she could manage, the sound whimpering off her lips.

"Obviously, I planned to come home to you as soon as he called, but things, you know, always get in the way." Maka wanted it to sound heartfelt, even the last bit of cliche, but it sounded just like her mother, always ready with regret, excuse. "But I wanted to call because I'm on my way to you now. I should be there tomorrow at the latest."

"You're coming?" Maka let herself melt into Soul, feeling him eagerly take the weight before pressing his lips against her temple. "Mom, we don't even know-"

"We'll talk about that when I get there." The background began to clutter with voices, sounds of movement and her mother's own over the top sigh. "I have to go, but I'll see you soon, baby. Bye for now."

"Bye," Maka croaked but wasn't even sure it echoed over before the click.

Soul took in a deep breath through his nose, taking in the scent from her hair and making sure to slowly count to ten. She didn't use the time to interject, her only movement the release of the receiver back to its home as her hand withered back to her side. It felt stupid to ask, especially since he could piece together just as much from what he'd overheard but he needed to jumpstart her. "Your mom's coming?"

"For the first time in four years," Maka murmured. The only breath she could catch was shallow and small but she forced herself back on her own feet, no longer bending into him. "She'll be here tomorrow."

His first instinct was to suck his teeth and start the rage for her but he held onto the cool guy he could be. "Then we'll see her tomorrow."

Maka turned quickly, eyes searching his face before her lip began to tremble. Her hand forced slowly into her hair as she found herself fighting the urge to stamp her feet like a child. "Why? Why is this what it takes? Why is she even coming when she couldn't be bothered to be a mom before?"

Soul put his hands at her elbows, pulling her back close to him. "I don't know why, Maka, but I do know it's not fair."

"It's not," she groaned in desperate agreement. "And I don't know why I can't tell her not to bother, why I want her here almost as much as I don't."

Soul let his face go flat, trying desperately to hide the curl of his smirk starting. "I'll tell her if you want."

Maka rolled her eyes but still let a weak laugh follow it. "You know that's not what I mean." She shrunk the space between them, resting her head on his shoulder as he eagerly took the cue to wrap his arms around her. "Could this be more stressful?"

"Don't jinx us," Soul grumbled.

She flexed her fingers into the back of his shirt, counting the seconds until they became a minute. "She'll be better than Spirit."

"I hope so," Soul shot back instantly, throwing in a snort of laughter at the end.

"She can be really wonderful…" Maka started to pull away from him just enough to see his face. "Hopefully, she'll-" It wasn't the phone but the doorbell that cut her off. There was a silent second for the two of them to stare at one another before Soul turned away, setting himself on the path down the hallway. She didn't stop him, watching as he didn't even bother to check the eyehole before opening the door.

"Stein," Soul offered as a greeting before moving out of the way, letting the older man in the hallway.

"Sorry to intrude." Stein nodded Maka's way, who offered a weak wave in return. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine, I guess," Maka attempted chipper but it fell flat, her hands nervously searching for crevices in the fabric of her shirt.

Soul got between them, signaling towards the living room. "Why don't you sit down?" That was enough to get them all in motion, Stein first as Maka followed slowly behind, Soul finding himself stuck in the doorway as he watched the two sit. Maka took the couch and Stein the armchair, but Soul found himself completely unable to stomach the idea of sitting or anything that close to relaxed. Instead, he walked to Maka's end of the sofa, his hands planting in the back as he loomed over her.

"I have to apologize for not coming earlier." Stein was smoothing out lines in his lab coat, eyes slowly coming to focus on Maka's face. "I admit that I could have told you earlier but I ran the test twice. This wasn't exactly something I wanted to misreport."

"Thank you," Maka brought in another quavering breath. "I mean, for being thorough."

Stein nodded slowly before resting his hands on his knees. "Your assumption was correct."

"OK," Soul answered quickly before letting his hands slip from the couch to her shoulders, eyes steadily falling on Stein. "What do we do next?"

That didn't seem to be the reaction Stein was expecting, his eyes narrowing a little. "I assume the two of you have discussed this."

"Some." Soul waited for Maka to chime in but she instead tipped her head back, eyes looking up at him. "I guess we have more to do now but what do we do in the meantime?"

A slow smile started to curve just the corner of Stein's mouth. "What you've been doing. You got the vitamins?"

"Yeah, right after you told me to," Soul nodded.

"I've been taking them every day," Maka finally managed to negotiate any words from her mouth as her eyes and head dropped back to Stein.

"Continue doing so." Stein placed a thoughtful hand to his chin. "Consider finding a doctor beyond Mira and me, since I'm not necessarily sure either of us is perfectly equipped. Maka, you can speak to Marie about that. Perhaps avoid Spirit at all costs."

Soul snorted as Maka let out a sigh. "Impossible because my mother's coming."

"Rin?" Stein's eyebrows popped up as he blinked through the statement. "When will she be here?"

"Tomorrow," Maka murmured.

"Remind me to be unavailable," Stein punctuated with borderline maniacal laughter. "And in the face of that, I'm about to tell you to avoid any unnecessary stress."

It was Maka's turn to laugh, a short, incredulous burst. "Next you'll tell me that I'm off missions permanently."

"Of course you are," Soul started but the words froze in his mouth as Maka's whole body jerked around under his arms. "I mean, Maka, come on-"

"_Permanently_? And what about you? I get I'm carrying it but are _you_ allowed to be in danger?" Soul shrunk and felt any new arguments scuttle in fear from the narrowing of her eyes.

Stein cleared his throat, "That might be one of the discussions you'll have, but I would consider that final call would come from Kid?" Stein was getting an odd sense of Deja Vu as that resolved face haloed by blond hair turned his way. He could almost laugh at the likeness. "Again, best kept for discussion later."

Soul was starting to flounder, the cool he'd kept partially dissolved by the misstep, no matter how logical it seemed to him, of saying no to her. He dared to look down, seeing her hands clenched into the fabric of her jeans just above the knee, the hunch to her shoulder that wasn't necessarily breaking their contact but making him lean more.

"What else?" Maka snapped.

"Just talk to Marie about the doctor. They'll guide you further through the process than I can." Stein looked them, the tension starting to meld between the two and leaking out into the air. "If you'd like me to tell Spirit…"

"Not necessary," Maka shook her head firmly. "I guess he'll be here with my mom, so two birds, one stone." That anger seemed to be drifting out of her voice, replaced by a hollowness that felt like it dug deep grooves in Soul's heart.

"I wouldn't necessarily tell anyone else, not at least until another two months." Stein eyed Maka carefully before uttering the next words, "Pregnancy can be a fragile thing." He slipped his eyes quickly away from both of them, not wanting to gauge the words before starting a slow bend to standing. "I better be going. Marie asked me to express that she'd like to visit you. Call her."

"I will." Maka stood first, slipping out of Soul's hands and towards Stein. For a second it looked as if she was going to hug him but instead place a soft hand on his arm. "Thank you." Stein simply nodded in reply and allowed her to lead him out, hand on his arm all the way from the hallway to the door.

The clank of the door shot Soul awake, forcing him to move from the living room to the hallway, seeing her standing there with her hand still tight on the knob. Maka wasn't crying but her eyes were filled with tears, threatening at any moment to turn into a deluge. She stared at him, mouth pressed tight before releasing, "I need to clear my head." There was something ugly rearing its head in her, something like a gene shared with her mother just like her blond hair, that urge to run.

"No," it was a pleading shout. "Please, Maka, you can't do that. You can't leave me." His voice faltered as if the last sentence had wounded him but Soul still took a step forward. "I'll stay out of your hair, I'll go in my room or I'll put on my headphones, I'll even clean the fucking bathroom, just don't walk out. If you walk out it's not going to fix anything it's just going to hurt."

The next waves were shame and guilt and they loosened the tears down her cheeks. It was as if just hearing her mother's voice today had infected Maka, spinning her mind away from reality and feeding it with the untruth that leaving problems is easier than fixing them. His eyes desperately darted to her fingertips as they relinquished the doorknob, her hand falling to her side.

"I know I pissed you off," his hands came up in surrender, level with his chest. "We're both upset. Just stay, though, Maka. Stay, OK? We can wait, talk about it tomorrow, but stay, please."

Maka pressed the heel of her hand into her eyes, trying to stop the flood of tears. An apology felt like a band-aid on a bullet wound and she wasn't even sure he should accept it, that he should be the one begging in the first place. She cleared her cheeks the best she could before starting a few aching steps back to him, placing a tentative hand on his chest. "I'm going to lay down."

"OK," he murmured, slipping his hand under hers to lift it to his lips, giving it a quick peck. Maka used the excuse to touch his cheek. Soul sighed against her hand just as she slipped it away, making her way down the hallway and into her room. She waited to hear his footsteps but when they didn't come, she slid slowly into the bed, pulling the sheets up and over her head. His slow and unsteady movement around the apartment was the tune that lulled her to sleep. She wasn't asleep long, the light still seeping in through the windows and drawing diamonds across the floor. There was silence now, no rustling or grumbling to be heard and the sudden fear gripped her that he had left. That ripped her from the bed, sent her stumbling across the hall to his open door.

Soul was laying on his back, headphones over his ears and hands behind his head, feet tapping less to the tune and more to the nervous beat of his own heart that hadn't stopped since she'd left him in the hallway. He had told himself he was going to be cool, that he was angry and hurt, too, and she had to accept that and deal with the consequences but when she suddenly flew into the doorway, eyes already filling with tears he shot up, ripping off his headphones. "What happened?" There was no stopping himself from feeling just as frantic as she looked.

Maka pressed herself against the door frame, hands coming to cover her face. "You're here," came muted through her fingertips and the crack of her sobbing breath.

A sigh parted his lips and as he ran a hand over his face as the anger started to drift away uselessly. "Come here," he ordered, hands reaching out for her. When she got close enough his fingers grabbed at her, bringing her tightly to him as he rolled back on the bed.

"I'm sorry," trembled out of her mouth, coming out as a breath against his neck.

"Good," his grip tightened on her. "And I get it, but I'm still mad."

Maka choked out a sob in reply, her mind racing for what was left other than sorry.

One of his hands sunk into her hair, using just enough tension there to pull her face from its hiding spot, his red eyes burning into her. "I was _trying_, Maka. I got that news and I was trying to keep my cool, ask the right questions, but I made one order you didn't like and you let it almost drive you out. Not fair, not cool."

"But if you got hurt…" she managed to breathe out softly, not feeling able to put up much of a fight against those fiery eyes.

"Yeah, I know. You think I'd ever want to leave you alone? Leave… leave just you to take care of our kid?" A laughed shivered off his lips. "I'm not done but…" He used that hand in her hair to bring their lips together, finding no resistance from Maka. "_Our kid_. You're pregnant and that's _terrifying _but I want to see it. You told me to think about it and I want to have faith, just like you said." Soul kissed her again sweetly before tugging her away. "But you have to show me that you're ready to do that, too."

"By arguing with you about who gets to go on missions?" A weak smile started to part her lips, her heart warmed by the comfort he was begrudgingly giving.

"Yeah, because arguing get it done, gets it decided." He huffed before surprising her with forcefully rolling her to her back, pinning her to the bed. "I want you sidelined because I'm not perfect, Maka. I protect you, but there's not really ever a battle that you come out of without at least bumps and bruises. Unless you can guarantee me that nothing bad is going to come from jostling this kid around, then my firm answer is still no. I'll be fucking damned if you think I'm letting anything happen to you or the kid."

"I'm not fragile," the strength was back in her voice as the tears started to abate. "This is the life we have and we run the risk every day, we can't always protect him from it."

Soul inhaled to continue but his mind drew in sharply, throwing away any other argument. "Him?"

Maka pressed out a thin smile while her hand drifted up into his hair. "Don't know for sure, just feels like a him. When I saw it… just seemed like a him," she shrugged.

"You think…?" Soul was dumbfounded by the idea, another sliver of solidification to the dream, even if it was maybe just Maka's whim. "So, him?"

"That's not fair if it's a girl," Maka managed a short laugh. "Maybe stick with _the kid_."

"_The kid_ will find that out later, as much later as we can possibly manage," Soul breathed. "Marie and Stein slowed down after Maggy came along."

"But Marie fought on the moon while she was pregnant," Maka shot back instantly, getting a hissing breath from Soul in reply. "And they still go on missions. They're not totally grounded like you seemed to insinuate for me."

"OK, maybe permanent was a bit much," Soul sighed. He rolled slightly on to his side, leaving himself enough space to press a hand to her stomach, making Maka's breath catch in her throat. "But while the kid's in here, I'm just asking you to take it easy. No missions unless we have to. The moon was a big deal, so I could see Marie needing to be there, but taking missions just because puts your body in a danger that I'm not comfortable with right now."

"No missions unless we have to," Maka repeated, her hand pressing over his. "I guess that's a compromise. Though, that sounded awful possessive, '_puts your body in a danger I'm not comfortable with_.'"

"Maka," he groaned. "I know it's your body, but-"

"I understand what you're saying," she cut him off with a quick nip of his lips and he fell into the trap, letting his tongue linger against hers for a moment. He didn't want to part but she put a firm hand on his chest, easing him up. "Soul, I'm sorry."

"You said that," Soul sighed. "And I guess it's better now that we talked about it but… just don't ever do that to me again."

"I'm not my mom," she murmured, hoping that just the words out loud alone would break whatever spell she'd fallen in to.

Soul felt a little jarred by the comparison, hearing the echo of his own statements just days before. "You're not," he tried to reassure her and himself at the same time. "That's why that kind of stuff can't happen. _We_ don't do that. _We_ argue it out."

Maka ran her hand up, letting her fingers glide from his neck into his hair. "Could we at least call it discussing rather than arguing? We did compromise, after all."

"No, we argue," Soul chuckled. "Since day one, Maka, we've fought, but it's the good kind."

She sighed before replying, "Never heard of the good kind of couple's fighting."

"Trust me, it's the good kind." Soul finally gave in, letting the last bit of anger flutter out of his mind as he pressed his face into the crux of her neck. He hesitated to move his weight but her arm wrapped around him, pulling him comfortably back against her as his hand slipped from her stomach. "We'll tell your mom and dad tomorrow."

Maka blamed the breathless feeling on his weight against her. "Tomorrow, Rin and Spirit."

"Rin's your mom's name?"

"Yeah, never heard it, have you? Spirit just calls her _the ex-wife_ and she's just Mom to me." Maka's mind started to wander to the last time she'd actually seen her mother, felt what it was like to be held in her arms. She wondered if this time it would actually feel any good, anything like what she'd wanted to feel.

Maka almost missed his long breath, the tremble that came into his voice. "After things have settled, after those two months Stein said, we'll tell mine."

That snapped her immediately from the trance, her hands instantly coming to soothe over his back as if that was a sob and not just words. "You're sure? You haven't… I can't remember the last time you talked to them, maybe Wes, but not-"

"They should know," Soul sighed. "Wes included." He let out a low, frustrated groan before trying to clutch at her tighter, no thought in his mind about space between them.

Maka drew lines around his back, feeling the tense muscles beneath them slowly relax. There was the last bit of his displeasure with her, the anxiety that she alone had created and would spend time alone being sorry for. She shut her eyes thinking, _I don't run. I'm courageous._


	11. Mom's Home

Soul had woken up early, leaving Maka still deep in dreamland and proceeded to do what he thought would be best: cleaning. It was one of the few leftovers from his own mother, the idea that when guests were coming it was imperative for the place to be spotless as if clean surroundings meant the dirty little secrets in your life didn't matter. He was also hopeful that it would clear his head, making the chance to meet Maka's mother and dealing with Spirit shrink with each inch of washed space. Except with each surface came a new worry to try to wipe away from his mind, and by the time his cleaning for the day was over, ended by a still exhausted-looking Maka stumbling into the bathroom, he still found himself overwhelmed with the day's prospects.

"You _cleaned_?"

"You say that like I never do," Soul grumbled from his all-fours position in the tub where he'd been scrubbing any mildew that dared to show its face.

She laughed to check her next comment, not wanting to stop this kind of behavior in the future. "Sorry, just not sure Mom's going to care about our shower."

"But she'll care about the living room, the kitchen." His voice rumbled in the shower acoustics before he stood up and made his way out of the tub.

"Maybe." Regardless of the bleachy smell and possible residual grime, Maka moved towards him and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him in close enough to plant a kiss on his lips. "Don't be so worried."

Soul grunted out a rueful laugh, "Sure, just look forward to meeting your mom for the first time just so I can tell her I knocked you up."

Maka let out a huff of air like that sentence came as a blow, letting her arms drift away from him because the smell was actually making her nauseous to the point where she could feel the acid strike the back of her throat. She swatted at him, motioning him to the doorway just in time to flip up the seat on Soul's newly cleaned toilet bowl and expel pure bile.

"Shit," Soul muttered, a mix of misery from the tarnished bowl, his own struggle to resist the common urge to copycat puke, and at least a little bit of worry for the woman he loved. His eyes hit the ceiling as his hand went to her back, at least trying to rub away her sorrow but still keep his stomach in check. He waited for the retching to stop before murmuring, "You OK?"

Maka moaned in reply, flushing the toilet as punctuation. "Looks like you're going to be the one cleaning for a while because that smell," she added another groan at the end.

"It's the kid, right? Morning sickness?" He looked down at her just in time to see her blink up at him in confusion. "I mean, let's get out of the bathroom. That smell isn't going away any time soon so…"

Maka let him help her to her feet and grabbed her toothbrush and toothpaste from the cabinet. They moved out the door but she didn't leave the words behind. "How do you know about that?"

Soul shrugged before struggling through the words, "Maybe I googled some stuff. You know."

She began to guide him down the hallway, working her way towards the kitchen sink. Her hand was clenched in his shirt, finding resistance in his steps. "When did you do that?"

"After you told me to think about it," he offered quietly. She let him go at the doorway of the kitchen and began the task of brushing out the horrible taste in her mouth, leaving a mint that wasn't technically more appealing but at least didn't make her retch again. Even though her silence was situational, Soul grasped onto it, taking it for another act of pressure for information. "Look, you know me, I _have_ to know everything. I just… I wanted all the details I could get."

Maka spat some toothpaste from her mouth, watching it drain in the sink. "What other stuff do you know?"

Soul's nerves started to drop from him, seeing that ridiculously beautiful smile shining right through the toothpaste foam. "Huh?"

"Tell me more."

Soul spent the rest of the morning unloading all of the knowledge he'd compiled over the last few days. It definitely wasn't enough, spots that he couldn't necessarily remember or hadn't looked up in the first place, leaving him bent over the laptop while she lounged on the couch. It was a solid stream of discussion, the truest display of their partnership as they hashed out the intricacies of their next big mission: pregnancy. There was a hint of parenthood thrown in, but Soul tried to veer away, working on one panic at a time. He slowly felt all the knots in his body dissolve, a coolness coming back to him that had been missing.

Eventually, he ended up on the couch with her, laptop long forgotten as his new focus fell on soft murmurs and even softer touches. It started with the intent of being calming, soothing, to seal in the positive feelings of the morning's discussion. He should have known better, especially as her hands started searching underneath his shirt while she hushed his whispers with kisses. No sooner had she wrapped her leg around him, pushing his hips against her in euphoric friction, than the doorbell clanged.

Like any good set of teenagers caught in the act, both fell into a state of panic. Soul rolled away, losing any grip he had on the couch and sending him thudding to the floor, any ounce of pleasure instantly forgotten by the rude awakening to his tailbone.

"My mom," Maka hissed the reminder to herself that she had needed about fifteen minutes ago. "Are you OK? I mean… your butt, but can I let her in?"

Soul sighed, "Let her in. I'm just… I'll come out of my room in a minute." He picked himself up off the floor, starting the walk to his room with a healthy dose of cold shower thoughts, his mind uncomfortably falling into a particular focus on some of the more nasty pregnancy facts. As soon as his door closed behind him he heard Maka move, making her way to the front door.

It was surprisingly silent, the only sounds right away the creak of the door as it opened. Rin barely waited to see the entirety of her daughter in the frame of the door before grabbing at her, bringing her into a bear hug as if she had been saving it up for her four-year absence. Maka didn't have any sound to give besides a trembling sigh, her whole body experiencing the emotional rollercoaster her mind was on as she was sure none of her organs were in their original positions, the inside of her feeling mashed and raw just from Rin's touch.

For one of the few times in her life, Maka was glad her father was there since he was the one who butted in, letting Maka have air. "Don't smother her," Spirit muttered.

"I missed _my_ daughter," Rin shot back.

Spirit trailed a hand over Maka's hair, surprising her with the restraint in his affections, not the pouring, overwhelming usual greeting. "I get that, but we came here to talk to _our_ daughter."

Why was she surprised that the fighting, while low-key and barely tempered yet, was starting? Even though it was just a duel over semantics right now, Maka could see it building slowly in their wavelengths, small cracks and pops lighting up the apartment. "Soul will be right out so why don't we go in the living room?" Maka waved the way down the hall and Spirit tramped off first, Rin following slow and smoothly behind him. "Mom, Papa, would you like some tea? Coffee?" Maka called from the doorway, almost unable to bring herself to step foot in the door.

"Water, darling, that's all," Rin answered but Spirit was decidedly quiet.

Soul was pleased that was the moment he could walk up behind her having recovered fairly quickly with enough new anxiety to fizzle any romantic thoughts from his mind. "I got it," he murmured, laughing shortly as she jumped from his tentative touch to the middle of her back. "Warm them up for me."

"They're already warm," Maka grumbled but accepted his push forward, sending her into the living room while he parted for the kitchen. The arrangement was awkward, Spirit leaning in one of the chairs while Rin took a spot on the couch, leaving the only option for Maka and Soul to split, not exactly what she wanted for this conversation. There was no chance it would be Soul next to her mother so she slowly eased herself down on the couch as Rin instantly gathered up Maka's hands from her lap.

"I'm sorry that this is the reason we're seeing each other." Thankfully Rin missed the eye roll from Spirit's direction, an action that would have started a war. "But when Spirit told me that you could be pregnant… Maka, how? How did this happen?"

"They had sex, Rin," Spirit spat. "Just how Maka came along."

Rin's eyes quickly moved from her daughter to narrow at Spirit, each word coming with sharp punctuation of its own, "But Maka is responsible. Or at least the Maka in _my_ house was responsible."

"And what house was that? The one you abandoned?" Spirit was edging towards the end of his seat, hands clenched into the fabric of his pants at his knees. "And she's plenty responsible. People just make mistakes, Rin. Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot, you can't seem to ever understand that."

It was a strange feeling as Maka was suddenly a child again, sandwiched somewhere into their argument in a way that she never really fit. This was the formula, her as a catalyst but them as the fuel, burning brightly against each other until she was all but forgotten in the mix. She was drowning, the exchanges starting to blur together as both of her parents just snapped back and forth. It wasn't until Soul entered that their voices cut and she realized only after the terror erupted on his face as he saw her that she had been crying silently.

"Maka," it was soft but desperate. Soul cracked the tray against the coffee table as he discarded it, not paying another second's attention to the water glasses that sloshed in response. Ignoring everything else, Soul crouched in front of her, hands coming to her face to clear away every inch of moisture he could find.

Maka let her fingers slip out of her mother's before letting them grasp at his. "I'm OK," she murmured.

His eyebrows refused to unfurrow and he turned to the other two in the room, his mind drawing a blank on all the etiquette he had planned on following today. "I didn't know you two were here to argue about your situation."

"Soul," Maka tugged at his hand trying to stop the deluge she knew was about to rush from his mouth.

It was useless, his eyes not even darting to her. "You both want to talk to us about the baby, so talk, and if you can't do that I'll kick you out myself."

"The baby?" Rin offered tentatively. "I thought you didn't know for sure."

Soul stood, letting one of his hands fall from her but the other still gently touched at her cheek, a soft thumb still stroking her face reassuringly. "We do now."

Spirit shelved the '_shit_' he was about to mutter and replacing it with a sigh. "Stein said yes, for sure?"

"He double-checked," Maka murmured.

There was silence, only the movement of eyes and Soul's soft touch on Maka's face adding any life to the room. Soul hated it, feeling her pain through his fingertips and watching what should have been the adults in the room ponder this without even an ounce of excitement. "Well?" he barked, unable to rein himself in, "What do you want to say about it?"

"Soul…" Maka tugged on his hand again, getting him to release it and bring it to her shoulder. He could almost hear it, how loud her soul was begging for quiet, for calm, for him to come back to her instead of leaping into the deep end. She paused, testing if he was done, before taking a deep breath to force her voice to stay even, "We, Soul and I still have a lot of talking, a lot of planning to do but we're going to…" Maka searched for the words because '_try,_' as they'd been saying for the past few days wouldn't cut it in front of her parents. "Well, we've always made everything else work, so we'll figure this out, too."

Soul squeezed at her shoulder but his face was still firmly watching the other two, silently daring them to give him a reason to make good on his promise.

"Maka…" Rin touched Maka's arm, letting it drift down to take her hand again. "You shouldn't rush this kind of decision, there are other options and I'm not entirely sure you've given them the time…"

Soul only caught himself from bursting because of the pressure of Maka's hand, the added pull of her soul trying to force calm on him that was almost completely unwelcome. He wanted to scream, to throw his hands up in the air, to say every last word that was on his mind and not allow this _stranger_ to dictate his life. _Try_, was a whisper in the back of his mind and he just barely choked everything else out, his fist clenching so tight that crescent moons instantly dug into his palm.

"Mom, I don't think we want to consider anything else." Maka's eyes moved to Spirit, searching for some kind of anchor, help against Rin, but found him still staring into space, the wheels in his own mind working on what looked like an entirely different thought. "I don't think-"

"You're not thinking," Rin pleaded, squeezing her hand. "You two are _young_, and from what Spirit tells me just starting on the journey into a relationship. Think of what a baby would do to that. A baby changes love, challenges love, and sometimes you end up realizing-"

"Stop," Spirit's voice struck all three of them. "I know what you're going to say, and I already said that to her the day after we found out."

There wasn't enough serenity in the entirety of Death City to quell Soul as Rin's sentence finished in his head. "What you're insinuating is that Maka ruined it for the two of you so how the fuck isn't that going to happen to us. So let me just-"

"That's exactly what I said," Spirit fanned out a hand towards him, surprisingly placating Soul's yell. "And hearing it from Rin's mouth makes me hear how terrible it really is."

"What?" Rin turned to him, her eyes wide, "I thought we were a united front on his, Spirit. We agreed-"

"Yeah, but don't you hear it?" Spirit sighed. "I should've just known when we agreed that it was wrong." He stood up from his seat, motioning Maka over. "Humor your dad for just a second and come out of the range of that guard dog of yours."

Maka realized the crowd and pushed to her feet, letting both of the hands drop from her to take the few steps to her father. "What am I humoring?" She could feel Soul still smoldering behind her but she was more interested in this new strangeness from her father, this almost non-dramatic reaction.

"An apology." Spirit took her hands from her side, cradling them. "I'm hoping you can erase what I said a couple of days ago from your mind and replace it with this: I'm going to stand behind whatever you guys do. Sure, I'm scared for you, you're my baby, and, fuck, do I ever want to punch that kid in the face because he touched you, but that's a _me_ problem. I think I've said before that you're going to do what you're going to do, and my best bet is just to trust in your strength." Spirit let his eyes wander over her shoulder, nodded at Soul. "And he's included in that your. Hate to admit it, but the kid was right, he's not me."

"He's not," Maka murmured, "But sometimes what you are isn't half bad either, Papa. I accept your apology." She leaned in a little closer, whispering with an amused smile, "But you owe Soul one, completely separate, especially for the _guard dog_ comment."

Spirit smirked back, "Never." The amusement on his own face didn't last long as Maka pushed herself forward, closing her arms around his waist. It was replaced with a soft, contented smile as his daughter offered him something he hadn't had in a long time, an embrace that didn't feel forced, compulsory.

"Spirit," Rin hissed, dousing cold water on a moment that Spirit wanted to hold on to desperately.

"Rin, I'm not going to argue this with you." Spirit savored what he thought would be the last moment of their embrace but Maka held strong, her face pressed into his shirt. For a second he could envision his baby girl, holding her like this when after a bad dream or after he'd come home from a difficult mission. "Now, Maka, tell your mother what you plan to do and that's going to be the end of it."

Maka planted soft hands-on Spirit's chest, making space between the two of them so she could turn her head to look at Rin. "Soul and I are going to have a baby, Mom."

"And we're going to be fine," Soul added as he slid a hand to Maka's hip. This slowly brought her back to him, the closeness adding to the calm of his statement. Soul found him leaning in, planting a soft kiss at her temple and kept his eyes on Maka, no longer interested in the rest of the room.

Rin gritted her teeth, shooting a breath between them. "You're sure there are no other alternatives you'll consider, Maka? Please, just-"

"No," Maka pleaded. "Mom, please, trust me. This is it for us."

"Maka…" Rin stared at her for a few breaths before looking to Spirit, eyes begging for a change but finding resolution in both.

Spirit wasn't used to saving Rin, maybe as a meister but not when she was his wife or now as an ex, and he was rusty as he started now. "I think I'll take your Mom back to her hotel. Let her settle. Maybe dinner tomorrow at the house would give us all a little more time."

Maka looked from Spirit to Rin, trying to gauge her mother's receptiveness but feeling an instant relief at the idea of her leaving anyway. It pained her, but having her mother there had done nothing but stirred up old feelings and put poor Soul on the defensive again. "We'll see you tomorrow, Mom." Maka moved to Rin, taking her hands and helping her off the couch before slipping into her arms.

This hug was less bear and more barely, weak hands patting at her daughter's back. "Tomorrow," Rin murmured, still mostly lost in her own thoughts.

"Come on." Spirit broke them, firmly taking Rin's arm before laughing softly as she brushed him off, par for the course. He let her get a few steps ahead of him, pausing to turn back to Maka at the doorway to the hallway. "I love you." He said it simply, sweetly, pressing a kiss to her forehead as he used to when she was so small he couldn't even imagine this kind of future for her.

"Love you, Papa," she murmured back, unable to relish the loving contact from her father because the tumble of emotion over Rin still dominated her mind. _She didn't say I love you. Not the whole time, not for one second, and what's worse is nothing about today showed me she did, not words, not touches._ "Mom," she called weakly just as she saw Rin's hand clenched the knob.

"Yes?" She only turned her head over her shoulder, catching a glimpse of her daughter around the golden locks that they shared.

"I love you," Maka offered as a salve to heal whatever wound she'd given her mother today but watched as it did no such thing.

The smile that Rin gave in return was only to placate, a coldness still keeping any brightness from her usually soft brown eyes. "Yes, honey, I love you, too."

"See you tomorrow." Spirit moved between the two, breaking a contact that Maka wasn't sure she missed as he pushed Rin the rest of the way out the door.

Even as it closed the harsh whispers started, her parents exchanging bitter words that would probably continue beyond the hallway, the apartment, the street. Maka couldn't stop herself from being glad they were gone, relieved to be in the almost quiet of the apartment, the only sound now being Soul's padding feet behind her. It was more of a crash than a hug and he grasped her so tightly she was sure she might lose her breath and maybe even part of her lunch. "I love you," was a desperate whisper from his mouth to her ear. It sounded the best of the three, closing out the bitterness of the last from her mind.


	12. Secret's Out

Soul watched her get dressed, looking for subtle changes but finding none. "You're sure you feel OK?"

Maka hated to laugh at him but the mother-henning was getting to the point of ridiculousness. "Yes, as I've told you about eight times since we woke up this morning."

He huffed as he rolled on his back on the bed, trying to focus on the ceiling instead of her, trying to get the panic out of his mind. "Tell me three or four more times and it'll get through my thick skull."

"It's sweet," Maka murmured, leaning over him on the bed. "Me going to lunch with the girls should be low-impact and I think I kind of need it before seeing Mom again."

Soul reached up his hand, gently caressing her cheek. "Are you going to tell them?"

"I don't think so," she pressed her cheek against his touch. "Stein said it wasn't really safe until after two months, right? So, just in case, I think I'll wait." Maka folded closer, giggling softly as she tried to kiss him, his inverted lips a trial to match. "As far as they know, Stein's still trying to figure it out and I'm just not feeling well."

He sighed, half want and half worry. "Don't feel bad if they torture it out of you. Liz can be brutal."

Maka pulled away, a vibrant smile parting her lips. "I'll tell her you said so. Do you think you're going to be OK?"

"No," he groaned. "But go. Get out before I get too ridiculous and make you drag me along with your legs. I'm probably just going to call Black Star and get some training in. Maybe that'll clear my head."

"Good idea." She ran her fingers through his hair before doing as he requested and starting for the door. "You should get going, too, before you drive yourself crazy."

"Yeah, yeah." He waved her off but still let his eyes trail her as she left the room, even getting up from the bed to move to the doorway to watch her down the hallway and to the front door. "Be careful."

"Yes, sir," she waved her hand over her shoulder, not even humoring him with another look before making her way out the door.

Soul sighed, knocking his head against the doorframe. A million and ten things could happen to her on the way to lunch, at lunch, on the way back, and every moment in between. He loathed being away from her but rationally he didn't enjoy this new possessiveness he felt, that protectiveness in overdrive. Keeping this in check would be imperative as they moved forward or he would end up driving both of them insane. He moved down the hallway and picked up the phone, dialing one of the few numbers he knew by heart.

After three lazy rings, the line clicked. "You have the almighty God Black Star's attention. Don't waste it."

Soul rolled his eyes, before sucking in a breath. "Yo, you busy?"

"It depends," Black Star cooed. "Looking to take a beating?"

"Or dole one out," Soul grinned.

"I'm in. I'll be over in 20." Black Star didn't wait for a reply, just hung up the receiver leaving Soul to do the same.

Soul ambled back down the hallway to the bedroom, rummaging through his drawers for his workout clothes. He could take a beating in just about anything but basketball shorts and a t-shirt would probably be the best to soak up the blood and dirt. Soul didn't carry any illusions that he was a great hand-to-hand fighter, especially against someone like Black Star, but he had been striving towards honing those abilities which meant getting kicked in the ribs way too often by Mr. God Almighty. He had just finished changing, throwing his keys in his pocket when the doorbell clanged.

Today would be a day to put on the calendar if it was Black Star actually making it over before his twenty-minute window so the tone had Soul's interest piqued, quickening his steps down the hallway. He swung the door open without much ceremony, ready with a quick quip on his lips about Black Star's usual tardiness when it all withered at the sight of her. "Rin?" Soul choked.

"Hello, Soul," she took a cool, pleasant tone with him but it somehow set his teeth on edge, his jaw already tightening.

Her tone didn't make an ounce of difference, Soul's hackles still up from all of Maka's old hurt, the guard dog that never backed down. "Maka's not here." A part of him was ready to slam the door right there, but he forced some social niceties.

"Then maybe I could just talk to you." Rin took a step forward, committing Soul to her request regardless of his willingness.

Soul made way for her, pulling the door open rather than crashing it in her face. "For a few minutes. I'm supposed to meet a friend."

"Does Maka know you're meeting someone?" Her voice was still easy, almost playful as she sauntered past him, making her way to the living room with Soul trailing behind.

Soul swallowed the bitter implication and answered flatly, "Yeah, but she doesn't exactly have to keep tabs on me."

Rin repeated yesterday, sitting on the couch and looking up at him expectantly as Soul chose to stay standing, leaning against the entryway as if ready to bolt at any moment. "Why don't you sit?"

"I'm fine," Soul didn't miss a beat, crossing his arms at his chest. "Just wondering why you're here. We're supposed to see you later."

"In a way, I was hoping to talk to you," Rin leaned back with an easy smile. "I know you love my daughter very much."

There was a pause and Soul felt the urge to fill it, "And I have since we became partners."

Rin nodded before continuing, "I know that must seem like a long time-"

"Look," Soul's words sliced through hers, "Get straight to the point. I don't have the time or the patience."

She finally let the pert smile fall from her features, her lips pressing firmly in a line before editing out her preamble. "I still don't think having this baby is a good idea."

Soul's grip on himself tightened, trying to hold onto the anger that was bubbling away inside of him. "I think we were pretty clear yesterday," he wanted to hiss through clenched teeth but managed a flatness close to apathy.

"Maka was clear," Rin blinked at him. "But I'm trying to appeal to the rationality that Spirit claims you have, since no rational person would settle on this plan. You want the responsibility? The exhaustion? The incessant neediness of another thing? You're what, eighteen, and only ever been with my daughter?"

Soul ground his teeth as his jaw set. He could be rational, sure, but at this moment he felt anything but, the rage starting to bubble up like bile from his throat. He had to check the words at his teeth, finding only scathing screams that while they would make him feel better wouldn't exactly charm what could be his future mother in law. "I don't see how that's any of your business."

Rin splayed out her hands as if showing him options. "What if-"

"There's no what if," Soul was surprised by the coolness in his voice, the way everything was slowly draining away with the next thought on his lips. "I love her. That isn't going to change. Maybe what we have might but the way I feel about her won't." He smoothed a hand through his hair, discharging the rest of his anger with a sigh. "See, this is still about you, you and Spirit, and I honestly think that's all you can think about. _You_. Why else would you ditch her for four years?"

Rin started to wither at his resolve, no longer seeing a hot-headed eighteen-year-old before her. "You don't know the first thing about-"

"Yeah, I do," his volume rose but not the spirit behind it, still oddly even. "Or at least I know what I need to know. You _left_ her. The most beautiful, caring being in the whole fucking world and you _left_ her because of Spirit, or because of you, that's what I guess I'm not sure of but it doesn't matter. So if that's all you want to talk about, _you_, then get out." His eyes caught the motion at the end of the hall, the door swinging wildly on its hinges. "Oh, fuck."

"Your God is here!" Black Star practically swung with the door, launching himself into the hallway.

Instead of the usual chagrin, Soul melted into soft laughter. "And looks like you're getting out no matter what, Rin. Black Star, just give me one more minute."

"You can't make me wait!" Black Star took a few more steps but the bravado faltered as soon as he hit the threshold of the door, eyes falling on Rin with a raise of his eyebrows.

The disregard, the utter calm that Soul had started to exude grated through Rin's mind like nails on a chalkboard. "We're not done!"

The laughter stopped up in his mouth, his head swiveling to her. "We are. I have someplace to be and you should go and think about your daughter for once."

"She can't have this baby!" It was one last desperate cry and it sent a crack through Soul's calm, sending his fist grinding into his thigh.

"If that's how you feel then go back to what you do best, being _gone_." He wanted to grab the words from the air as he released them, the cruelty of it jarring to his own ears, but it was done, an irreparable split to a seam. He stumbled through the rest, "Get out, Rin. Go."

As Rin pushed past him he could feel the tear, a new panic rising in him as all the repercussions to that mistake started to hit him one by one. _Maka still loves her. She won't forgive you and neither will Maka if you send off the mother that she's only ever begged to come back. You've ruined it. Ruined it._

It wasn't the slam of the door behind Rin that cracked him back to reality but Black Star's violent yell. "What baby was she talking about?"

"Shit," Soul hissed. "Black Star, just… forget it, please. Let's just go practice and-"

"What baby?" The clarity in his demand was strange and Soul found himself blinking at his best friend.

Black Star keeping a secret was like trying to expect a man covered in butter to catch a pig with his bare hands, but what other choice did he have? "Look, you can't say anything but… Maka's pregnant."

"With _your_ kid?" Black Star spat.

Soul shot out his hand, jostling Black Star's shoulder. "Yeah, _my_ kid. Who else would it be?"

That was the end of the humor as Black Star's face fell flat. Soul was afraid his brain might have burst from possessing the information but it was a slow hardness that came to his face, a bitter line to his lips. "You mean you and Maka are going to have a kid."

Soul shrugged, trying to press his shoulder again but finding it immovable. "Yeah."

"That…" Black Star clasped a hand over his mouth, trapping the flood of words until he could edit. "You have to train," he finally leaked through his fingers.

"Yeah," Soul raised an eyebrow, "That's what we're doing, right? You, me, training, now."

"No," Black Star slapped Soul's comment out of the air with his hand. "You have to get stronger. Maka, too. You're both completely useless on your own and you're just barely good enough together."

"What?" Soul's brown furrowed as he tried to process this as another superiority joke.

"You can't," his voice cracked and Soul suddenly realized Black Star's face had turned red. "You both have to get better, OK? Just, we'll start with you but Maka... Fuck."

"What are you talking about?"

"You know what happened to me, right?" The words exploded from Black Star's mouth, the crimson growing deeper even around his throat. "I get it, my parents were bad guys, but guess what? There's people in this world that think _you're_ the bad guy, Maka's the bad guy, and if you're not strong enough that baby…"

"Yeah, I get it," Soul murmured before planting his hand against Black Star's shoulder, this time not to nudge but to hold, to keep him steady instead of that strange rage. "Don't think I'm not worried about that, too. Especially Maka."

Black Star cleared his throat, shrugging the hand off his shoulder as he turned back towards the door. "All we can do is focus on you first, anyway. You're not letting her fight pregnant, are you?"

"Letting her?" Soul let out a sharp laugh. "You've met Maka, right? Try to stop her from doing something." He didn't let Black Star get away, his hand grasping at the back of the shirt to stop his forward motion towards the door. "But we've got you watching our backs, right?"

"You'd be hopeless without me." Black Star threw a piece of a grin over his shoulder before pulling Soul another step forward. "Plus, you've obviously already chosen me to be legal guardian in case of your ultimate demise, so I have to protect the kid."

Soul shook his head through a rough laugh. "Yeah, right. Run that by Maka. I'm thinking her pregnancy chop is going to be something else." He let the momentum take them, walking out the door and then into the hallway. "But, hey, try to keep it a secret, OK? We weren't really planning on telling anyone yet."

Black Star let out a huff of air, "Do you really think I can't keep a secret?"

Soul let out a slow sigh, hoping that Maka was having better luck at lunch.

* * *

Technically, Maka was enjoying herself. She'd missed a lot of gossip, a lot of going-ons on campus with her infrequent attendance and each of the girls had something to share. Liz and Pattie had more than enough news about Kid's various conniptions, while Tsubaki had more than one embarrassing Black Star story to tell, and even Kim could share the latest happenings with her love triangle, but all of it paled in comparison to the words that couldn't leave Maka's throat. While it all seemed fun, it struck her as insignificant, a drop of drama while hers was more of a sea.

She couldn't tell that Spirit had finally been on her side for something, a Soul-related something.

She couldn't tell that her mother was back in town and she was starting to feel like she hated that fact.

She couldn't tell that in eight more months there'd be a whole new honorary member of the EATs team.

Honestly, telling them didn't even seem like it would be some kind of relief, either. Wouldn't most of them just react like her mother, throwing any hope of this working to the wind? Soul was the only one who understood and that was just because he _had_ to, it was happening to him, too, he was forced into this because she'd made a decision. Her mind clamped onto that thought like a vice and sent a wave of tears to choke her. Maka quickly stood up, brushing a hand over Tsubaki before innocently trying to call, "Be right back."

The bathroom was a million miles away and by the time Maka had reached it she was too late to really hide the tears. She managed to catch the first sound of the sob by the sink, thankful that it was a single door that locked and could keep the entirety of the world out. This sob she was able to squelch, forcing it out as a trembling sigh. The fear took her that there was no way she'd be able to hide the crying, her eyes ringed red already just from what managed to get past her defenses, and with those girls at the table she would have to tell. There was no hope of keeping it all at bay and she had told Soul, promised-

"Maka," the knock was almost as demanding as the voice, more surprising since it was one that rarely insisted on anything.

"Tsubaki, I'll be right out," her voice warbled at the end and that knock came again almost instantly.

"I know you're crying," Tsubaki added with another knock. "Just let me in."

Maka let out a shaky sigh as she turned to the door and watched the knob jiggle uselessly. She waited for the movement to stop before turning the lock. The door instantly popped open, Tsubaki slipping in and pressing it shut just as quickly and Maka could hear the click of it relock. "Tsubaki…"

She moved forward, wrapping her arms around Maka's shoulders and pulling her in tightly. "Why are you by yourself?"

Maka forced the sob that wanted to come as another shaky sigh. "I just got in my head, that's all. I needed a break."

"From what?" Tsubaki loosened her hold enough to see Maka's face as she planted her hands on Maka's shoulders. "I'm starting to get afraid this sickness isn't as small as you've made it out to be."

"It's not that," Maka groaned back as her eyes darted to the ceiling in an attempt to keep the tears at bay.

Tsubaki's fingers clenched tighter. "Is it something with Soul? Are you two OK?"

Maka choked out a laugh, pressing her fingers to her eyes to cease the flow. "Tsubaki, I can't…"

"Maybe I understand not announcing it at the table, Maka, but me?" Tsubaki moved her hands to clear the tears that Maka's press didn't get. "I'm just so worried. You haven't been able to be with us on missions, you're not coming to class, and even Soul's all out of whack when he does show up. The last time I saw him I don't think he knew which way was up and asking about you seemed to put him on the verge of tears."

Maka let out a weak laugh, "I think that's a good description of both of us."

"Did you…" Tsubaki's voice halted for a second before letting the words carefully leave her lips, "You didn't break up, did you?"

"No," Maka could manage a smile at that, the surety of his feelings one of the only sources of warmth for her. "That part I think is OK."

"But you… there really is something wrong with you, isn't there?" Tsubaki eyes searched her face, her teeth biting into her bottom lip.

"I'm…" Maka stared at her helplessly, feeling Tsubaki's eyes slowly tearing away her will and her ability to hide. "I'm pregnant."

"Pregnant?" Tsubaki's hands fell to her side as the word tumbled through her mind. "You mean, with a baby? You?"

It was just comical enough to elicit a breathy laugh from Maka's mouth. "I'm, we're having a baby, yes."

Tsubaki was still blinking through the information. "You and Soul?"

"Hence the space-casing," Maka murmured. "He's still working through it. I guess we both are."

"A baby," she repeated as if the word still hadn't settled. Tsubaki took a few extra breaths as her eyes searching over Maka to maybe see the difference. It was the way her eyes suddenly lit up, a tentative smile touching her lips. "Are you happy?"

The question left Maka breathless, mostly because she didn't know the answer but also because that had never been part of the equation before. No one had bothered to think about happiness, the idea that while unexpected, the kid was going to be an extension of their love, another piece to their puzzle. This had real potential to be wonderful, to be fulfilling, that all the fear would eventually melt away with their hard work. She found her pressing her fingers to her stomach, still nothing tangible but another being that she could feel with her soul perception. "I want to be," she murmured.

"Then you should be," Tsubaki's voice and words melted right through Maka's heart. "I'm going to guess that it wasn't exactly planned but that doesn't mean it has to be bad. You're allowed to feel however you want to, Maka."

A strange relief was washing over Maka, not exactly a complete snuffing out of fear but a sudden tempering of it, a tiny wave of something close to elation lapping at the back of her mind. It was short-lived as another rattle to the door came. "I think our time's up." Maka turned back towards the mirror for a second, examining a face that couldn't hide an ounce of her emotions.

Tsubaki's face appeared over her shoulder in the mirror. "I'm going to walk you home."

Maka smiled softly, "No way I can convince you to just let me slip out the back?" Tsubaki only offered a firm headshake in reply, leaving Maka to sigh and accept her fate. The first steps out of the bathroom were difficult, only spurred forward by Tsubaki's arm linked in hers. By the time they reached the table the issue had clearly been discussed, all the girls easily giving in to Tsubaki's story that Maka wasn't feeling well and would now be walked home. The worry on the other girls' faces was barely masked in the short goodbyes.

* * *

Soul was playing with the split in his lip, a gift from the over emotional Black Star who didn't take it an ounce of easy on him during their sparring. He'd finally settled into the couch, trying to find comfort where there couldn't possibly be any. He needed to tell her he'd ruined everything with her mother and that thought left him completely uneven. The door was like a starter's pistol and his heart leaped to pounding as soon as he heard it close again behind her.

Maka walked to the doorway, stopping as those beautiful crimson eyes pleaded with her before a word even came out of his mouth. "What happened?"

"Sit with me," his tone was cool but he couldn't stop his eyes from begging. Maka didn't exactly listen, coming to the couch and pushing him down on it, nowhere close to sitting together but her climbing on top of him, her head on his chest. He didn't argue, just wrapped tight arms around her as the fear tried to tell him she'd flee. "I made a mistake today."

"What kind of mistake?" she whispered back.

"Your mom came by while you were gone." He paused to feel her dig deeper against him, her fingers tangling in his shirt, and a wave of that choking sadness from her hit him like a punch to the gut. "Most of the time you can't get me to open my mouth but, damn it, Maka, did I ever when she was here. I should have just told her to go but I let it loose."

Maka sighed against the fabric of his t-shirt, breathing in again to let his scent calm her into avoiding a fresh batch of tears. "How mad was she? Is that what happened to your lip?"

"No, the lip was Black Star, but if she didn't hate me before, she does now," Soul muttered.

"OK," Maka punctuated it with a withering sigh.

Soul's hands searched for purchase, moving her so that her head tilted up and looked into his confused, blinking eyes. "OK? Maka, she's your mother and I-"

"Made a mistake. We make mistakes, don't we?" Her hand moved to his cheek, fingers detailing the line of his jaw. "And if you're not sorry, if you think what you said was right, don't apologize. You probably said something to protect me, didn't you? My guard dog."

He huffed, "Don't call me that." He could even hear Spirit when she said it and he was keenly aware that while it felt mocking it was nothing but the truth and that he had about as much chance of losing that title as Maka did of ditching her signature pigtails. "I'm just… I'm getting tired of the same reaction. The sadness, the shock, like we're supposed to just be terrified. Don't get me wrong, I am, but… it's like they're all saying it's impossible for us to be happy."

"Tsubaki asked me if I was happy," Maka whispered.

"You told her, huh?" Soul couldn't help but smile at this inch of reprieve. "Just her or all the girls?"

"She cornered me in the bathroom, so just her," Maka laughed before rubbing her thumb against his jaw again. "You're right, though. She was the first person to even mention any joy and I… Soul, I _want _to be happy. I want _us_ to be happy."

"Then let's do it." Soul pulled her closer, no longer able to resist the softness of her lips. He lingered there a moment to seal the deal, something to start the bliss they were talking about. "You, me, and the kid, we're going to be fine. We're going to be happy."

"Better than fine." She pressed into another kiss, adding truth to those words as the same steady elation overwhelmed her with each one of his touches as he softly brushed back her hair.

Soul wanted to get lost in it all, drift back into one of the things they did best, but he parted from her, his hand finally resting at the nape of her neck. "I, uh, told someone, too."

"Oh, no," she murmured. "You didn't, not-"

"Black Star," he chuckled. "Technically, your mom told him."

Maka groaned in reply, her fingers clenching into his shirt to shake him a little.

"Hey, hey," Soul complained through a laugh. "He actually took it pretty well. Mature. He…" Het let his smile falter and felt the worry tighten his throat. "We all know what happened to his parents and he doesn't want another situation like that. In other words, he's going to work me to death so that I can protect you." _Happy, _his brain urged, _get back to that._ "So it's kind of lucky you told Tsubaki since he'll hopefully only blab that far."

"If he tells everyone-" Maka started to hiss but Soul swiftly caught it with his lips, making the spite disappear from her mouth.

"Then everyone can be happy for us."


	13. Thank you

More story development but a nice addition of *******adult content******* since I haven't done that for a while in this fic! Enjoy.

* * *

Saying dinner was tense was an understatement, the only voice loud and clear being Maka's, who flitted through conversation with herself like a professional. After all, she did spend years with Soul as a mostly silent partner, so creating conversation had become her forte long before. After the food, the groups split, Rin leading Maka off into the living room while Soul was stuck in the kitchen with the task of clearing the table with Spirit. Soul could feel the hair on the back of his neck stand on edge as Rin had shooed her out, taking her away. The idea that he couldn't hear the conversation was making his teeth almost snap from the clenching.

"So, you're in the doghouse," Spirit started as he handed over the first freshly rinsed dish to Soul's toweled hands.

Soul studied his face and when he found no smugness offered the information, "With Rin, yeah. Maka, no."

"Interesting." Spirit's attention turned back to the soapy water, fiddling with another dish. "What'd you do? We haven't even seen you since yesterday."

"_You_ haven't. Rin came by the apartment," Soul muttered.

Spirit sucked his teeth, his head shaking in the process. "Rin always has to have it exactly her way."

Soul sighed, fighting with himself about the urge to stick his head into the living room before forcing himself to stay put, to actually have a conversation with Spirit. "I didn't keep my cool. Said shit I definitely shouldn't have said."

"That isn't hard to do that with Rin," Spirit shrugged. "Again, it's usually her way or the highway. Keeping your cool can be impossible in that situation."

Soul used the excuse of shelving the dish to pause, to let the fact that Spirit was agreeing and even having a commiserative conversation wash over him. He turned back to Spirit, seeing the outstretched hand with another dish. Before grabbing it, he took a deep breath, trying to be as careful as possible with his tone, "I get leaving after the divorce, but… Maka misses her. She doesn't talk about it much but when she does I can feel how much it hurts."

Spirit stretched a sigh from his lips, wishing his hands weren't stuck in soapy water so he could run his fingers through his hair. "If you're trying to ask me why Rin hasn't been around I can't help you." He wanted to be immune to the anger but it swelled in him like a wave, threatening to crash over the entirety of the coolness he was trying to take with Soul. "Rin had this tendency to walk out when things got rough. Always needed to '_clear her head'_ in the middle of a fight."

A tingling fear slithered up Soul's spine at the phrase, the echo of Maka saying it playing in his mind. "Maka… she almost did that."

"To you?" His eyebrows flew up, his mouth a little agape. "She walked out?"

"Tried to," Soul kept his eyes on the towel, rotating it in his hands.

"Well…" Spirit planted his hands on the edge of the sink, his focus turning to Soul as he tried to imagine that moment without painting him and Rin overtop of the two of them. "You stopped her though?"

Soul found half a smile cracking from his lips, "I'm not too proud to beg."

Spirit chuckled, "Maybe that's where I went wrong. But you… don't let her get away with everything, OK? And…" He paused for a moment, gauging whether or not his first bit of advice had been thrown to the wayside. Soul was just standing, blinking at him, hands outstretched for the next dish and the next suggestion. "You're going to be a dad soon, and you sure as hell won't be able to forget that but don't forget Maka exists. You'll have a million different new jobs but one of them will still be just being with her."

In all honesty, Soul had almost missed the entirety of that bit of guidance after '_to be a dad,' _both his stomach and mind flipping at the reminder. That would mean a million new things he'd have to do, to _learn_ to do and he had about eight months to do it but of course, he'd never forget about Maka. That seemed like a statement that only required a '_duh'_ in reply but the reality hit him like a ton of bricks. _When was the last time I had sex with her?_ They'd started the process just before Spirit and Rin showed up but that obviously put a damper on it. Did they touch each other since the pregnancy results? _Holy shit, not since before we knew, that morning before she made me go to school._ That thought hit like a punch to the stomach.

Obviously that wasn't exactly what Spirit had been alluding to, especially since the idea of that white-haired punk touching his daughter still set his teeth on edge but it had started the mental process in the right direction. Soul was looking back and it was sinking into him that no matter what the world looked like on the outside, what it was doing to them in the process, he had to be there for her, with her, and reminding her of that neverending want he had for her. While he was ashamed of the realization, Soul felt a sort of resolution drifting over him.

Spirit was busy examining Soul's face again, slowly seeing the fourteen-year-old boy he remembered merging into the man he was looking at now. The height had changed, the muscle, maybe even the length of hair, but it was more than that, finally seeing the solidity that had always been radiating from Soul. Suddenly, Spirit realized he didn't have a chance anymore, that inevitable truth he had tried to avoid since Soul became Maka's partner so many years ago. "Soul, I'm sorry."

"Huh?" The befuddlement could not be more genuine from Soul, his mind still reeling from the last realization and barely lighting on this one.

The clot in Spirit's throat barely budged, even with the cough that he used to try to expel it. "You're good for her, and I don't think I ever even tried to show that, let alone say that." He cleared his throat again, eyes focused back on the dishes and scrubbing a pot that didn't need all that attention. "But that's the first and last apology you'll ever get out of me. Savor it."

Soul shelved the last thought just in time for a throaty laugh to tumble from his lips as he shook his head slowly. "Yeah, OK." It was strange to stand on even ground with Spirit, and just for a second Soul felt a surge of pride regardless of the lame word choice. _I am good for her. She's good for me. And I'm going to be better._

"Go take your stupid grin into the living room." Spirit waved him off with a soapy hand. "I can finish up here."

Soul chuckled again, discarding the towel on the counter before doing as he was told, moseying slowly into the living room. _I'm going to be good to her,_ he repeated again in his mind just as his eyes laid upon her, seeing those green orbs blinking up at him. "You OK?" she mouthed it more than said it.

Soul stopped short in the entryway, keeping his eyes from even lighting on Rin, solely focused on an even more confused Maka. "Can I borrow you a second?"

"Sure…" She glanced at her mother before standing, walking towards him only to be intercepted, pushed into the hallway towards the room she hadn't lived in for years.

Soul moved her into the sunny yellow room, the room arranged as a snapshot of preteen Maka, old posters and pictures still adorning the walls, a vanity with a mirror cluttered with post-its and cards of book quotes. As she stared at her old self scattered around the room, Soul reminded her of what she was now, one hand snaking around her middle, pulling her back to his chest while the other smoothed away the hair from her neck, leaving a path for him to plant a few strategic kisses.

Maka relaxed into him, a wistful sigh parting her lips. "Did something go wrong with Papa?"

"No," he grunted a laugh. "This isn't something bad, so enjoy it for a second."

"Oh?" She felt his hand at her chin and combined with the movement of his arm around her waist Soul turned her, bringing her lips to his in the process. He started off feathery soft, lips barely touching before easing her lips apart, deepening into a kiss that made her legs feel weak. That tight arm around her waist gave her enough lift to stay stable until he closed with a playful nip at her lower lip. Maka slowly blinked herself back to reality, breathless as she focused on that widening grin of his. "What was that?"

"Something I should have been doing," he whispered before stealing a ghost of another kiss. "And I should have told you one more thing about what I said to your mom."

Maka tried to resist the furrowing of her brows. "What's that?"

"We're going to change," he couldn't stop the quiver in his voice, a little bit of fear still threatening every time he thought about that part. "But the way I feel about you, how much I love you, that never will." Tears instantly started at the corner of her eyes and as soon as Maka blinked the liquid started a slow crawl down her cheeks. "Hey, don't do that," Soul murmured, starting to clear the trails off her cheeks. "It's happy stuff, Maka."

"I _am _happy," she hiccuped through a soft sob. "I love you, too."

"Good." He tilted his head, giving her forehead a soft kiss. "That's why when we get home, if you're feeling up to it, I'm going to undress you and you're going to tell me how you want to be touched."

It didn't matter the number of times they'd had sex, a blush still came to Maka's cheeks at the thought, at the image he'd laid out for her. "Do I get to return the favor?" Maka laughed softly.

"I was hoping you would, but again, only if you feel up to it." His hands were softer now, moving from that firm hold at her waist to ease up her back. "I know you haven't been feeling so hot."

"I think I'll feel better once we're naked." Her laugh was only intensified by his, another bit of contagious joy between the two of them. It was another little piece of proof that when it was them, they could be happy.

* * *

They were barely through the doorway to the apartment when Soul scooped Maka up into his arms, a romantic attempt that dissolved mostly into the comical as the goal became avoiding smacking her head against the wall in the process. At the very least it brought them back to themselves, that infectious laugh starting between the two of them and continuing until he'd laid her out on the bed. "No undressing?" Maka giggled as Soul slowly eased himself next to her.

"Eventually," he grinned. "Taking it slow." Soul's hand and eyes moved to her top button, starting the slow process of unbuttoning each in the long line down the front of her dress. Regardless of the call to delay, Maka undid the tie at her waist, giving him better access and letting the dress fall open as he undid each one. "You should get dresses like this more often," Soul murmured. "Especially for the slow undress."

"The buttons take forever," she grunted a laugh.

"I don't mind." Soul parted the fabric to the side, letting his finger drift a line from her belly button to her bra. "Where first?"

Maka's skin lit up under his fingertip. "More of that but add a kiss or two."

"Or three, or four," he murmured back before pressing his smirk to her lips. Soul's fingers ambled along, trailing soft lines along her collarbones to drift over the peak of her bra and then down to her stomach again. There his hand fanned out, letting his mind just flit momentarily to the kid before urging himself back to the matter literally at hand. He smoothed across the line of her panties, dipping to her side before tracing back up, finally resting on top of her bra. "Here?"

"Take it easy," Maka replied with a sigh. "They're… I don't know, they kind of hurt."

Soul pondered this, deliberating as if it were a battle he needed to win. The front closure to her bra today was a win for him, and she allowed him to struggle with it for a few minutes in deep thought before she intervened, popping the two cups apart. "Gentle," he repeated to himself before leaning in, not to capture her lips with his but to dip his head to her chest, placing a few feathery kisses from her collarbone to her nipple, his tongue finally lapping at the peak.

"That works," Maka breathed out before punctuating it with a moan as his mouth latched on to her.

His hand moved beneath the swell, doing nothing more than cupping, keeping her breast steady as he made delicate motions with his tongue. Soul was all about equality so he lifted himself up, scooting her to the middle of the bed so he could lounge on her other side, giving her other breast the same flicks of his tongue. This was also another calculated decision, now having freed his dominant hand to linger down her stomach, playing with the line of her panties again. He unlatched his mouth, playfully adding one last flick of his tongue to her nipple. "This or kissing while I…" he let his finger tracing between her legs finish the sentence for him.

Maka debated for a moment, running her fingers through his hair. "Stay there for now."

A smirk started to pull at his lips, keeping his mouth off task as his hand came back to the band of her panties, pushing them down. Maka helped on the other side, getting them low enough that she could pull her knees up to get them the rest of the way off herself. He was watching her intently as her legs came back down to the bed, spreading slightly in anticipation. His touches were no longer tentative, knowing exactly the motion he wanted to take against her, that firm glide right between her folds to press against her clit. Maka's eyes shut, a soft pant of air leaving her lips as her fingers tightened in his hair.

That's all he wanted to see before he could turn back to her breast, latching on to suck gently as he pulled his fingers back, applying pressure as he stroked back. That was his motion, the easy forward and back slide that made her hips start to rock against him, forcing her breath out in little spurts accented with gasps and groans. Soul was enjoying it too much, the sounds, the way her fingers flexed into his hair, and he had to remind himself how much he wanted her to linger in this pleasure, for it not to be over so soon. He eased the pressure, using the momentum to bring his fingers inside her, stroking slowly.

He let go of her breast again, eyes focusing on her face before she pulled him up with her hand at the nape of his neck, bringing his lips back to the place they almost always wanted to be, pressed against hers. It was quick, a gasp breaking the contact as he plunged his fingers in her again. "I want to hear it," he was a little embarrassed at the requirement he was laying out, his voice coming out as a murmur. "Don't hold it back."

"Not gonna be hard," she whispered back breathily and he opened his eyes in time to see her green orbs glowing with a healthy mix of amusement and ecstasy.

Soul pressed his lips to her jaw, trailing kisses to her neck where he added a soft nibble as his fingers fell back on that tested and true motion, feeling her hips move in perfect time with each stroke. He had just pulled another nip of skin between his teeth when her hips locked and the long, breathy moan erupted from her throat, his name thrown in as a passionate addition to the sound. That had him aching inside, wanting to hear his name like that a million more times from her mouth. "Thank you," he murmured against her neck.

"Hm?" Maka was barely aware of the words and when she could process them added a laugh. "I think it's supposed to be the other way around. Me thanking you."

"Not yet," he added his own contented chuckle before lifting his head to get a better look at that afterglow that he cherished seeing in her face. "Give it like ten or fifteen more minutes."

"What?" She blinked at him.

"In a little while, I'm going to do that all over again," he smirked before leaving a kiss on the confused line of her lips. "In the meantime, take off the rest of this."

Maka continued to ponder him but did as requested, fidgeting in the bed back and forth until she managed to get free of the dress and her bra. "Again?"

"As long as you feel up to it." His fingers drifted along the freed skin of her arm.

"I feel fine, _great_, but…" Maka eased herself onto her elbow, pushing him back on the bed so that she could start the process of undressing him, returning the favor with his buttons. "Again?"

"Girls can do that, right?" Soul was starting to worry about this locker room information.

"Well, yeah, but I've never…" Maka blinked at him. "We've only ever done one and one."

Soul smirked, "Yeah, and we're going to break that record today."

Maka finished with his shirt, fingers still lingering on the t-shirt underneath. "Get this off."

"Don't worry about me just yet." Soul playfully ran his fingers over her stomach again, getting a slap on the hand as a reward. "Hey!"

"Get undressed," this wasn't coming as a request.

Soul felt that little rush of want and he tried to force himself to be slow to follow the order. He'd never admit it out loud, never for her ears to hear but, Death, did he ever love it when she ordered him around, both on the battlefield and here in the bedroom. He got down to his boxers before his eyes caught her movement off the bed and he just barely grabbed at her, catching her wrist. "Where do you think you're going?"

"Give me a second," she murmured with a coy smile.

Between her naked body turning away from him and the smile he was still recovering from, Soul was aching to get out of his boxers. There wasn't slowness to it anymore and he anxiously waited for her to come back, listening carefully to her movements around the apartment.

When Maka emerged again she was carrying a small bottle in her hand with a towel in the other, bringing it back to bed with her as she sat next to him. "Sit up."

Soul was easing up on his elbows, eyeing the bottle in her hand. "Maka-"

"Just do it, please," she added the last bit of sweetness but her voice still came as an order.

He played annoyance well, throwing in a huff for good measure before sitting up against the backboard. "What are you up to?"

Maka laughed softly, "I don't exactly trust my gag reflex."

"Told you I wasn't important right now," Soul muttered but still watched her with interest as she opened the bottle and gave him the cap before pouring a little of the silky liquid in the palm of her hand. She gave him the bottle and he closed it, putting it on the nightstand.

She smiled before pecking his lips softly. "I get the 'let's spoil Maka' attitude, but I'm not going to let you get away with just the regular."

"Hey." He didn't let her lips get away, sinking a hand into her hair to keep them connected. "Nothing that happens here is ever regular to me."

Maka sighed wistfully, "Always with the cool guy lines."

Soul's chuckle ended with the air sucked back in through his teeth, feeling Maka's slick hand grasping at the head of his shaft, spreading the lube down to the base in a smooth, tight stroke. "Fuck," he groaned out.

"Too tight?" Maka murmured, her voice now right next to his ear as she moved her head towards his neck to plant a kiss.

"No, just… fuck, do that again." His head tapped against the headboard as she slid her gripped fingers back to his tip, starting a slow up and down motion. This was far from regular, the perfectly slippery pressure making his toes curl. Soul gripped her neck, pulling it from the hiding space so he could at least return some of the pleasure, his tongue desperately searching against hers as soon as their lips locked. She was always tricky like this, making his mind wander away from its purpose and he found himself having to grab at her wrist to stop that growing tightness in his legs. "Feels a little too good."

"Isn't that the point?" She nibbled at his lower lip.

"Think you'd be OK on top?" Without even thinking his hand left her wrist and touched her stomach, something that was becoming a gut reaction for him.

She humored his worry, still finding it cute but in her mind noting that the future was going to be filled with this. "I think I'll manage." She moved to swing her leg but he stopped her.

"Give me a second. Condoms are still in your drawer, I think." Soul went to stand but she pressed him back against the headboard.

Maka laughed softly, her hand patting his chest again. "I don't think we need them."

Soul blinked at her, ready to form an argument about being safe but his mind caught up, forcing a laugh from his mouth. "Yeah, right." He touched her leg softly. "And you're the only person I've been with."

It was funny, before that moment he'd never said it, would probably never admit for a million years that Maka was the star in all of those big moments of his life, but the smile he got as a reward made it worthwhile, her beaming grin pausing to press against his. "Only you, Soul."

"Come here." The soft touch on her leg became firm, starting to move her. "Backwards," he instructed, bringing her into his lap with her back pressed to his chest. This was always his favorite part, the first easing thrust into her and as she lowered herself onto him, Soul exhaled shakily into her back. It obviously felt different, no separation between them and between her and the lube it was a smooth glide.

"Why like this?" Maka tried to throw a glance over her shoulder but it was no use.

"Easier to do this," he murmured as one hand cupped at her breast, fingers only softly caressing at her nipple. His other hand moved between her legs, starting the same stroking motion from before. Maka leaned back into him, Soul accepting the weight and using the closeness to his advantage, placing slow kisses along her neck and shoulder. "You alright?"

"Perfect," she whispered back breathily, surprised to already feel that wave starting in her. Soul tilted his hips, creating shallow strokes that did nothing more than add fuel to the fire in her as he continued his quick finger movements. He was about to ask her for an update since he was starting to regret the position for the inability to see the passion take over her face, when the breathy gasps started, those quick little intakes of air trembling from her lips. "Soul…" She leaned her head back, her cheek coming to his as the quivering feeling exploded, eliciting less of a moan and more of a cry, a sharp call that was barely good enough to express the intensity.

His hand drifted up to her stomach, still pressing her to him as the aftershocks in her muscles made her body tremble against his. He kissed her shoulder again, letting out a soft laugh as her hand came up to absently run through his hair. "Brag-worthy?"

"Definitely," she murmured. "You can gloat for the next week."

"Only a week?" He smirked against her skin, nipping at it lightly.

"Don't press your luck." Maka patted his cheek before leaning forward, Soul's hands slowly drifting back to her hips as she rocked forward. She ran her fingers down his legs slowly, feeling the assortment of old scars, the memories of his skin. "Is this OK?"

"Please." Soul's fingers gripped into her flesh, helping her set a rhythm as she rolled her hips. He couldn't imagine a better ending, her taking control of him, riding out the pleasure he'd managed to give her. Her sweet sighs fed him as she continued to rock him in and out of her. He puffed out a few harsh breathes as he watched the curve of her spine, her shoulders dipping in a way that his mind could only see as absolutely perfect. The tingle started immediately after that thought, the ache of the want for her exploding in his gut, spurring a low grunt from his throat. He slowed her hips with his fingers, keeping her in place for a moment while he caught his breath, while the electricity in his legs subsided.

Maka picked up the towel, moving it to fill the gap between them as she detached from him. Instead of any quick moves she flopped on her stomach, still holding the towel tightly to her so as not to ruin the sheets. She let out an elated sigh into the mattress, turning her head to catch a glance at him in her periphery. Soul rubbed himself on the tail-end of the towel between her legs, lucky she picked one of the full-body ones before flopping beside her, fingers already starting a trail up her back. "What inspired that?" Maka murmured.

Soul grinned, letting a low laugh bubble from his throat. "Your dad."

"Ew," Maka groaned. "What? Spirit? Soul, that's gross."

"Not like I was getting pointers," Soul had to pause to laugh, pressing his face into the mattress to smother the volume. After enough dampening he turned his head, crimson eyes staring right into her. "He reminded me that you're mine. Baby or no baby, DWMA or family or the rest of the world fighting with us or against us, you're mine. Means I have responsibilities and I think in the face of all the fuss lately I might have been slacking on some of those."

Maka sighed, reaching out her fingers to smooth the hair back from his face. "You're always so quick to blame yourself, you know that?"

"Not blaming," Soul shrugged. "It's not like I said anything was wrong with the past few weeks. I think we've both handled it about as well as we can. We're idiot kids, afterall." He took her hand from his hair, clutching it tightly. "I don't think us, our relationship has been hurt though. Do you?"

"Maybe I love you more," Maka replied with a smile.

Soul chuckled, "I thought you loved me the most already."

"I said no one has loved anyone as much as I love you," Maka corrected. "Just setting an even higher standard. Now, no one will be able to compare."

He snorted in reply, squeezing her fingers again. "Thank you."

"Again, I think after today it should be me thank you," she laughed until he didn't echo it, his eyes growing soft with that hint of seriousness.

Soul inched a little closer, brushing his lips against hers. "Thank you for existing. For being mine."


	14. Be Cool

Sorry this took so long! I hope you enjoy it. It's all sweet and fluffy, for now.

* * *

"We have to remain vigilant…"

Maka was trying to concentrate on Kid's voice but the thundering of her heart was drowning it out in her ears.

"We can't be sure of the threat level since as of right now all we have to go on is scattered information…"

Soul's hand had drifted to her lower back, a modicum of comfort leaching from his fingers.

"But we have a forward unit looking into the whereabouts and the intentions of the witch Druscilla, and whoever she's been able to recruit…"

"You sure you don't want me to…" Soul whispered but even with his closeness it barely registered to her. He had to tap a finger to her back again before her head turned to him.

"Just do what you always do," Maka smiled warmly even with the trembling of her heart. "Have my back."

Soul smirked, "Always."

"We have to remember that we're a team. We protect each other, keep each other safe." Kid's eyes settled on Maka, the target he had been trying not to look at all along. "And with that, I open the floor to one of your teammates." Kid thankfully didn't motion for her to come up, just spotlighting Maka with a wave of his hand.

Maka took a deep breath, bolstered by Soul's gentle smooth up her back as she opened her mouth for the speech she'd written and rewritten a thousand times in her head. "First of all, I want to thank everyone in general for the well-wishes. It's been hard being away from you all so much and even more difficult not to share with you exactly the nature of my current condition." She needed to stop to breath again, struggling to meet eyes around the room. It begged to remind that this was her family, EATs being the center of her world besides Soul.

"We waited to tell you for some very obvious reasons, but I hope you'll forgive the tardiness." She took the time to glance back at Soul, the smirk on his lips still not wavering. "A little over three months ago, we found out I was pregnant, or I guess I should say that I _am_ pregnant."

"You're _pregnant_?" Liz erupted whether Maka was done or not, rushing over to her as most of the room stood agape.

"Let her finish," Black Star barked.

"Like you're not surprised?" Liz shot back with a glare.

"I knew," Black Star shrugged before he hitched a finger at his weapon. "So did Tsubaki."

"_Maka_," Liz's voice climbed an accusatory octave. "How did this happen?"

"They had sex." Black Star got in one solid laugh before Maka's hand shot out menacingly.

Soul was quick to step in, grasping Black Star by the collar. "No one needs an anatomy lesson."

"But it wouldn't hurt your reputation for people to think you're actually getting laid." Black Star grinned before slipping out of Soul's grasp, getting him by the wrist and turning the tables. "Bet half the room was more surprised by the fact that you got some than accidentally-"

"You and I both know that's not what I mean by _how_," Liz interrupted. She pushed back her long, blond hair nervously, the perfect picture of a worried mother herself. "You didn't plan this, right?" The incredulity dropped from her voice as she pressed her hand to her mouth monetarily. "Oh, Maka, I'm sorry, that's terrible. I shouldn't…"

"It's OK," Maka let the ghost of a smile touch her lips. _Especially since that's barely even the worst reaction, but that's something I'll have to tell her about later._ "It is, technically, unexpected." A minute wash of relief came over Maka as no one bit at the statement, but as her eyes still wandered around the room she could see soft whispers coming from multiple lips.

"I think this raises a question." Harvar took a step closer, away from his aside with Ox. "And I'm going to ask for all of your rationality here."

Soul quickly wrenched himself free from Black Star and Maka could see that cord on his neck instantly tightening but his face trying to stay still, unphased. "What is it?"

Harvar pressed his visor up on his nose, affording Ox another glance before turning his attention to Soul. "As a team, I think we should come to an agreement as to whether or not Maka should be benched for the remainder of her pregnancy."

"Benched?" Maka could barely keep it from being a hiss. "I already went over this with Soul. We're staying in the fight."

"Maka, think about it," Ox stepped past his partner. Logical thinking was always something they shared but at least Ox thought he could offer something a little less calculating. "It's not just you that shares in the pain when you get hurt."

"And, to be frank, it's a liability to the team," Harvar added without skipping a beat. "Considering the timeline, that means your fainting incident was probably the antecedent to your diagnosis. If your body is weakened, you not only put yourself in danger but the rest of us."

"Harvar, lay off," Kilik snapped.

"He's got a point," Kim's eyes couldn't find Maka's, more interested in looking around the room for fear of meeting the death glare that had developed. "If we're relying on her in a fight, we need to know she can operate at a hundred percent."

"I'm not useless!" Maka shrieked, her eyes falling from face to face, seeing the same thoughtful furrowing of eyebrows and shaking of heads. "Tell them I'm not," she spat at Soul.

"Maka, chill." Soul took hold of her wrist, pulling Maka towards him. She hesitated at first, getting just close enough that he could change his grip to her waist. "Look, I hear you, and I can't deny that Maka's safety was my gut reaction, too." He turned his gaze to Maka as his hand gently ran up her arm. "And we know it's not just us making this decision." Maka went to snap her mouth open but Soul flexed on her arm. "That's why I think it's better if we all take a few days to think about this before any of us blow our tops."

"And it's not about voting Maka off the team." Liz took another step forward, that protective barrier between Maka and the group.

Kid's mind had been running like he was working on a doctoral thesis, point and counterpoint piling as each person had their say. Ultimately he would have to admit a prejudice in all matters Maka-related, but he wasn't just a teammate anymore, technically a boss and with that, there was no room for bias. "I would like to hear everyone's opinions," Kid scanned the faces in the room, "But I believe that no matter what the final decision will fall to me."

Maka's frustrated glare touched on Kid before she ripped herself from Soul, fully aware that she was stomping away like a spoiled child but unable to stop herself. Soul let out a withering sigh, taking just enough time to say, "Come by later," to Liz before heading after her. Damn it, could those long legs be fast when they wanted to and Soul found himself breaking into a jog to reach her. "Maka," he tried not to make it sound like he was chiding, but there is was.

"What?" she snapped back, her eyes filled to the brim with tears.

"I get it," he put up his hands innocently. "I'm gonna say again that as far as our team goes our decision stands. We only work the missions we absolutely have to."

"But apparently that doesn't matter," she groaned before throwing her hands into her hair. "Oh, Soul, I just, I feel so-" Maka cut herself off with a sob. Soul was immediately there, hands searching to soothe and it helped keep her from completely dissolving into tears. Instead, she pulled herself together with a hiccup. "Just tell me I'm not useless."

"Still the most courageous person I know," he murmured before pressing his lips to her forehead. "Still the best meister. Still get done more in a day than I probably do in a week."

She let out a soft, rueful laugh, "That's not true right now. I'm still pukey and tired."

Soul sighed as he kissed at her hairline again. "You're allowed to be. This kid isn't taking it easy on you." He brought his hands to her hips, pulling her back so he could see her eyes again. "Let's go home and I'll cook and we'll watch movies and I'll do whatever the hell else you need, OK?"

"Can you punch Harvar in the gut?" she mumbled.

"Play nice," he grinned. "The rest of the team does kind of have to think about themselves. I wouldn't want Black Star half-assing it if it put you in danger."

"But I'm not half-assing," she growled back.

"Fine, the kid's half-assing," he tried to grin back at her but it wasn't catching, her frown just stretching deeper. "Maka, you just said it yourself, you're pukey and tired. You think that and missions are going to mix? You think once you start filling out a little more that swinging me is going to be easy?"

Her eyes welled up with tears again but Maka checked the attitude she was ready to throw, the childishness she was ready to give in to again. "Soul…"

"But maybe I will still punch Harvar for you," he grumbled. "Still didn't appreciate the cold-hearted approach. He should know by now to let Ox tone it down." His hands left her sides before he grabbed one of hers, starting a slow walk. "Come on. If we're going to argue, I wanna do it at home."

"It's not an argument," she sighed before picking up the pace to get alongside him. "You're right."

Soul put a hand behind her ear, turning in her direction. "Can I hear that again?"

Instead, she swatted at his hand as she huffed out a discontented sigh. "Being smug is just going to add to the list of things you have to do when we get home."

"That's a threat," he laughed. "What am I at so far?"

"Cooking, watching Pride & Prejudice again-"

"Oof," Soul mimicked a hit to the stomach.

"Be nice or I'll take the next thing off the list," she threatened.

He tossed one of those gorgeous smirks her way, the kind that still sent her heart aflutter. "What's that?"

Maka leaned a little closer, bumping her shoulder against his. "Undressing me."

Soul chuckled as he ditched holding her hand to throw his arm around her shoulder. "I'd sit through a million mini-series for that."

* * *

Soul made it through the first two hours, his eyelids sort of drooping as soon as they hit the hour and a half mark but Maka let him be. Unfortunately, it wasn't her touch that woke him from his half-slumber but the door, visitors who didn't understand the concept of just ringing the bell once. Maka was up before he could grab for her, his want now to make sure he got an 'I love you' or a kiss before the next person to walk through the house ruined the mood. Worst yet, it was his own damn fault this time, Liz's voice echoing through the hallway as soon as the door opened. "Maka, I'm sorry."

"Seriously, it's fine." Maka made way in the hallway for Tsubaki and Liz, both with numerous bags in tow. "But what's all this?"

"Soul told us to come by later," Liz thankfully didn't hear the huff that elicited from Soul's throat because she had just barely turned the corner. "And after how stressful today must have we thought you might need some stuff." Liz herded Maka to the couch, ignoring Soul almost completely who at least received a wave from Tsubaki.

"Teatime," Soul muttered before he planted a kiss on her cheek and started past the gaggle of girls.

"Thank you," Maka called, still discombobulated by the bags that both girls were leaving at her feet. "But what is it all?"

"Go through it," Tsubaki urged as she sat at Maka's side.

Liz made a Maka sandwich, her cheek pressing against Maka's shoulder. "I shouldn't have said what I said, Maka. It was just a gut reaction-"

"Again, fine," Maka dipped her head to rest gently against Liz's. "Trust me, your's was tame compared to the parent reactions."

"Oh, I'm sure Spirit had a cow," Liz snorted.

Tsubaki gently put her hand on Maka's arm. "But Soul's parents…?"

"Next week." Maka's stomach dipped again and she tried to blame it on the kid. She had met Wes once, almost in passing and definitely before Soul and she were even together. Now she was about to show up on their doorstep, announce their relationship and a baby? If only that nausea was morning sickness so nibbling crackers could abate it. "But my mom was here."

"Was?" Liz snapped. "She left?"

"Well, yeah," Maka whispered, feeling the crinkling starting in her nose, the burn in her eyes. "But she said she'd be back in two months." Soul had thrown a full-on temper tantrum about that, ready to outlaw her altogether, but Maka was still trying to hold on. Two visits in a year would be a first, and if that behavior could just start sticking…

"Then that's when we'll do the baby shower," Tsubaki chimed.

"Baby shower?" Maka blinked.

"Duh," Liz nudged into her again. "Pregnancy can suck, so at the very least other people should buy you stuff for it. Tsubaki and I were talking about it today, and we can totally plan it for you. We're just going to need a list of all your people, Soul's people, and we'll take care of DWMA."

"DWMA are my people," Maka laughed softly, "and I guess we'll find out Soul's next week, but… you don't have to go through all that."

"Maka, don't be ridiculous!" Tsubaki took one of Maka's hands, drawing her attention Liz. "We're family, right? And you and Soul are going to need plenty, so we want to help."

Any control Maka had over the tears reserved for her mother was gone and she got in one good, lip-trembling sob before getting crushed between the two girls, arms circling and fingers comforting.

"Don't smother her, please," Soul grumbled as he walked back into the room, tea tray in hand with cups for all. There was a pot for the girls but Maka had her own cup which she was completely unable to focus on, still fighting off the remnants of the tears. "Maka, is that kid tears or real tears?"

"Kid tears," she murmured with a sniffle.

Soul was about to sit when Liz finally emerged from the jumble of arms. "Hey, put this one in the freezer."

He reversed his trajectory, snatching the bag from Liz's fingers. "Ordered around in my own house," he grumbled until he reached the hallway, throwing back a call, "And like we needed more ice cream here."

"Never enough ice cream," Liz shouted back before turning to whisper to Maka, "Has he been OK?"

"Worried, a little mother-henish at times, but totally sweet." That thought was enough to stop up her tears. "I think… he's done a lot to grow-up in a short time. Maybe he doesn't see it, but every day he's better."

"Soul, an adult?" Liz scoffed as Tsubaki reached around to give her shoulder a shove.

"Could he teach Black Star a little something?" Tsubaki sighed wistfully.

"I don't know, Tsu, try getting pregnant and maybe he'll man up too," Liz smirked.

"Stop," Tsubaki hissed.

Maka managed to laugh as she reached out for both of their hands. "No one else is getting pregnant for a while, OK?"

Liz gave Maka's arm another squeeze. "I don't know, maybe you'll start baby fever."

"Once I tell you what's happening to my breasts, you'll no longer be interested," Maka groaned as she leaned back into the couch, letting the two exchange a look in front of her. "But what else did you get, other than ice cream?"

Tsubaki reached for the first bag, displaying a myriad of items. "Some spa stuff for you."

Maka made the expected 'oohs' and 'aahs' as her fingers touched over the items.

"And some cute stuff for the baby," Liz cooed as she showed off the inside of a second bag.

Soul sauntered in, trying not to draw the attention of the gaggle and hoping against hopes he could finally sit down to just experience the mood swings that he knew were coming. 'Kid crying' was becoming a thing, quick leaps to tears that could either be happy or sad dominating moments were there usually were none.

"And something for Soul!" Tsubaki grinned as she reached across, sifting through until she found what she wanted from Liz's bag. She hopped to her feet, extending her hand with a minty green bundle of cloth.

His smirk wavered while he looked from Maka to Tsubaki as if he were asking for permission. He reached his hand out slowly, plucking the gift from her fingers. As it unraveled in his hand, Soul held his breath, first shocked by the size of it. It was too small to even cover the entirety of his forearm, a onesie with bright bold lettering. "Daddy's Little Monster," he whispered.

"Yeah, since we're ninety percent sure it's going to be a little carbon copy of you," Liz joked but it didn't even seem to make a dent in him.

None of it occurred to him, eyes completely focused on the tiny bit of fabric in his hands. Suddenly he was out of the seat, pushing past Tsubaki and quickly disappearing into the hallway.

"Soul?" Maka sat bewildered for only a second before waving Tsubaki and Liz to stay put, her feet pounding down the hallway almost as hard as her heart. "Soul?" she repeated again as she turned quickly into the bedroom, finding him half in the closet like a child caught in the midst of hide-and-seek.

"Close the door." His voice was so gruff she had no choice and knocked the door closed behind her. As soon as the sound reverberated through the room a second sound hit her, the rough scratch of his sob filled its place.

"Oh, Soul," Maka murmured as she came up behind him, wrapping her arms around his waist. "What is it?"

"I just…" Soul sucked in a trembling breath. "The kid's going to be this tiny. I'm going to put him in this and he's going to be so tiny and perfect."

"Soul," she squeezed him tighter, hiding a laugh in the back of his shirt. "You're being adorable."

"And I swear to Death if you tell them," he growled as he wiped the tears away from his eyes. "Maka Albarn, you're swearing right now on everything that you're not going to tell them I'm in here crying about a fucking baby shirt."

"A onesie," she corrected playfully.

"Maka," he growled.

"OK, OK, I swear!" She let her hands travel up his chest, rubbing at his shirt. "Daddy."

"Don't you dare," it was another rumble from his chest followed by a hiccup of air.

"What?" she ran her fingers over his shirt again. "You're going to deserve that name, Soul."

Soul choked through another wave, just narrowly keeping the tears back. "I don't-"

"Sh," she cut him off quickly. "I won't let you argue. It's just like what I said before - we balance. I need you, he needs you."

"You called it '_he'_ again," he murmured.

"So did you," she replied softly. "Maybe in a month we'll know for sure, but I still see him. The little soul. I… think it kind of looks like yours."

He finally turned in her arms, hands coming quickly to her stomach as if he was going to grip that vision in his fingers, the onesie slowly unfurling across her stomach. "Like me?"

"Yeah," she smiled brightly. "And he's going to be just as protective, loyal, loving, and _cool_ as his dad."


	15. Normal

Two days of updating, holy cow. Please enjoy. I also really have fun changing Soul's parents' names every time I write a fic.

* * *

All the color was gone from Maka's face, her lips pressed in the thinnest line he'd ever seen on those usually pouty lips. Today, up until that moment, had been a day of triumphs - no puking, well-rested, and actually hungry for a mission. Now, as Maka stared Kid in the face, Soul was sure everything was about to crash and burn.

"It's not a desk position." Kid was trying to sandwich the bad between the good but finding her face unchanged making it all murky.

"It might as well be," she snapped before pressing her hand to her face.

"Maka…" Soul let his hand drift down her back.

"You'll still technically be hands-on," Kid added weakly. "The students can learn a lot from you, and you have the temperament for them. Consider how we grew up with Stein. You'd be a vast improvement."

"Flattery will get you nowhere," Maka frowned. "And how are they even going to respect me? I'm barely older than them, not to mention everyone is going to know I'm only there because I'm pregnant."

Kid let out a withering sigh, tenting his fingers as he leaned forward on the desk with his elbows. "Would you rather the desk then?"

"No," Maka grumbled.

"Then that is what I can offer you until, well…" Kid had struggled with this final idea since the initial meeting, since the first grumblings from Harvar. "I'm going to ask you to consider taking this as a permanent position."

"Permanently benched?" Maka tried to keep from screeching up another octave, her nails making crescent moon marks in her palm.

Kid glanced at Soul, finding him simply shaking his head. "Again, consider it. You'll have plenty of time before and after, especially since I expect you to recuperate, both of you, for at least six months after the baby is born."

"At least DWMA has decent parental leave," Soul grinned to himself, only to receive a huff from Maka.

She couldn't decide if it was kid tears or real ones threatening at her lids as her hands came down to rest at the tiny pudge that was starting to appear just below her waistband. It was all starting to be tangible, the change in her body and the change in her life. "I'll think about it. _We'll_ think about it. But Soul, he's teaching, too?"

"Officially just a weapon's instructor. Still gets to keep his title, though," Kid grinned.

"It's too cool to let go," Soul let that feed into a gigantic smirk. To be honest his mind wasn't even concerned with any of that. Fighting, benched, hell, fucking expelled, it didn't matter. Maka's body was changing and there wasn't much he could do for her there, but he was picking up all the other slack, cleaning out the second bedroom, compiling a list of necessities, and most of all, staring at that stupid onesie every now and then. He sure as hell wasn't ready, but he was on track.

"Fine," Maka let out one more huff, that pouty lip finally back to greet Soul. "I want ice cream," she muttered to him, grasping at his wrist to start the walk out of Kid's office.

"See ya." Soul threw a wave over his shoulder before letting her drag him at a steady pace. "Ice cream? I thought it was fried chicken before we got into the meeting."

"And two minutes from now it'll be Chinese food," she groaned. "I just want to _eat_. I'm _starving_. Practically wasting away."

"From puking to gluttony in a week's time," Soul chuckled. He managed to get a hold of her, his hand clinging to her hip as he was about to make another quip in her ear when he paused, seeing Liz storming up. Except she looked ready to blow right past them, a situation Soul hadn't experienced since the pregnancy. He quickly side-stepped Maka, grabbing Liz instead. "Hey, where's the fire."

"Hey," Liz tried to drop the panic from her face, sending a sweet but truncated smile in Maka's direction. "Nothing, just, well, stuff that Kid needs to hear."

"Something going on?" Soul pressed, feeling Maka come up behind him and press against his side.

Liz let her eyes travel the hallway before bringing them back to Soul. "Look, we've got three student teams rushed to the dispensary this morning. It was supposed to be a low-rank mission, but those stupid cultists showed up again."

"Is everyone OK?" Maka couldn't stop herself from touching the minute swell again as if the motion created any kind of calm. _It's a new enemy. Always a new enemy._

"Alive," Liz sighed. "But they seem to be targeting students more often, and-" Liz cut herself off, eyes drifting over to Maka. "How are you feeling?"

Maka narrowed her eyebrows, the transition too obvious for her to let go. "Fine. But what's the and, Liz?"

"_And_ I should be getting to Kid now," Liz's smile was about as genuine as Soul's attempts at enjoying Maka's music tastes. "See you later."

"Yeah," Maka murmured in reply but it didn't matter, Liz was already out of earshot the moment the words were from her own mouth. "I don't like this."

"Nope." Soul was groping for her before he even turned, hand coming over hers on her belly. "But look at it this way, those kids are going to need you more than ever, teach."

She huffed before putting her hand on top of his. "Don't call me that."

"Professor?" Soul raised his eyebrows playfully. "Oh, sensei!"

"Stop." She tried to shove him but he grabbed her instead, pulling her a little closer by the waist.

"They need to know how to fight against the real stuff," Soul murmured. "We both know you know what that's like, looking death in the face. You're going to teach that to them because it sounds like they're going to need it. You're in the right spot."

Maka smoothed the front of his shirt, her finger stopping at the tip of his scar, hidden under the fabric but a spot she knew better than any on her own body. "And you're going to do the same thing."

"Eh," he shrugged before breaking into a gigantic grin. "Best I can do is tell them to get a hot meister, make her fall in love with you, and have her do most of the work."

Maka snorted a laugh. "You're despicable."

"Always my goal: to corrupt the youth." He patted her hips one more time before releasing her. "Food."

"Noodles," Maka cooed.

Soul started off again with a laugh, feeling her grab onto the back of his shirt, happily listing out her menu of wants. He'd never say it to her face, not wanting another pointless fight since Kid already decided it, but he was over the fucking moon that she was here, trapped in the safety of DWMA, a place thick with weapons and meisters enough to keep her safe. More and more these days he kept reliving Black Star's words, that _there's people in this world that think you're the bad guy, Maka's the bad guy_. He, unfortunately, didn't know how right that was.

* * *

White knuckled was an understatement and Soul was ninety percent sure he'd lost feeling in most of his arms from the tensing at the wheel. How he even managed to keep them on the road was a mystery, especially since he'd spent much of the drive just spewing every last bit of knowledge he'd held in about his parents and Wes since the inception of their partnership. By the time they pulled into the driveway, Maka knew everything from their favorite colors to the embarrassing summer right before he left when his mother tried to cook and ended up giving everyone food poisoning. The information was, she assumed, supposed to be comforting, but Maka was already feeling fairly flooded, not necessarily needing the extra inundation with all the thoughts that were already overwhelming her mind.

It wasn't until he pulled up to the house, his arms still stuck on the wheel as his eyes focused on the dull skin of his hands, that he finally let the last agonizing thought part his lips. "I want to give them a chance."

"What?" Maka was almost too overwhelmed with the house to even filter his words. She knew he came from money, the descriptions of family vacations sounding a little too lavish to be middle class, but this was ludicrous. The antebellum columns, the perfectly manicured lawn that was bigger than their local park, along with antique-looking Porsche sitting next to their busted Toyota in the driveway all painted a far more intense picture.

"I'm mad at them," he groaned as he shook at the unyielding wheel. "But I want them to have a chance with our kid."

Her gut reaction was a giant _DUH!_ Since why else would they even be here in person? A phone call, a letter, a carrier pigeon would work just fine if it was just about notification. But she swallowed that down, trying to clear the extraneous thoughts that were cluttering this _big deal_ moment. "So, just for today, let's put aside the Soul stuff. That doesn't mean we're forgetting it, letting it go, just shelving it for when it's manageable. Today we're telling them, offering them the opportunity to be as active as they'd like to be."

"OK." Soul finally released his grip, flexing his hands in this lap until the fuzzy feeling started to wear off. "Just that they're going to be grandparents."

_Grandparents!_ Maka let the word titter around her head for a second. _Spirit, a grandpa._ That came with a kind of relished joy, Maka musing if the girls at the club would start calling him _pops_ and how deliciously that would wear away at his vanity. "Grandparents," she let loose with an amused curl to her lip.

"Oh, fuck, my mom's at the window." Soul knocked his head on the steering wheel.

"We were going to have to go in anyway." Maka took a second to smooth his hair back, getting a sideways glance from those now stormy red orbs before she opened her car door and slipped out. "Let's go."

Soul let out one last low moan before following suit, having to jog to catch up with her confident stride to the door. He had barely caught up to her when it opened, the older version of Soul standing on the threshold. "Hey, Wes," Soul couldn't stop the croaking quality to his voice, the tightness in his chest refusing to dissipate.

"Hey, little brother." Wes held out a hand, his eyes wandering over Maka's face. "The partner, right? Maka is it?"

"Yes, Maka Albarn." Maka took his hand but felt strange in the formality of a shake.

"We met once before," Wes mused as he kept her hand to lead her into the entryway. "And while Soul's inconsistent with calling home when he does your name is usually involved."

Maka threw that amused smile over her shoulder, catching the last bit of blush on Soul's cheeks, making a mental note to torture him later when his heart rate wasn't through the roof. "We're not just partners, Wes," Soul corrected as he added that 'jump to your own conclusions' wave of his hand.

"Oh." Wes's smile had a much more catlike quality than Soul's, his teeth looking almost just as sharp.

Wes let go of Maka's hand as they reached the living room and she slowed her steps until she felt Soul next to her, his hand resting at the small of her back. "Names," she murmured to him.

A weak grunt escaped his lips before he rested on the face of his mother. "Maka, this is Lily and Henry. Mom, Dad, this is Maka Albarn, my," a weak puff of air left his mouth before he sucked in a new one. "My girlfriend."

Maka watched that word hit Lily in the face, her brown eyes popping open widely. She could see the resemblance, the pale hair and lithe frame, but she would have to wait to see the identical smirk until later since Lily was simply still all shock. Henry had the same cat-ate-the-canary grin as Wes, that descriptor bringing more amusement than anything else. "It's nice to meet you." Maka held out her hand and waited on Lily, finding that Henry was the first to recover instead, his grip much more aggressive than Wes's.

"Same," Henry's voice was a deep bass, elicited from a barrel of a chest, the kind his sons definitely didn't inherit. While Wes and Soul fit more the track star body type, Henry was through and through a linebacker. "Right, honey?" he prodded her and it finally sprung Lily into action, her two delicate hands surrounding Maka's.

"Yes, wonderful."

A wave of anxiety called through their joined hands and Maka blinked at the sensation. _She's worried about meeting me? _But Maka made herself shut it off, mute out the whispers.

"And Soul…" Those delicate hands left Maka's and moved to Soul, enveloping him in her arms. "I'm so happy to see you."

Every muscle corded, the sensation still strange unless it was Maka behind it. "Alright, Mom," he murmured, raising one arm to graze her back. Henry made no such moves, just planting a hand on Lily's shoulder to pull her back, to give his son the air he was already struggling for.

It was a silent moment of arrangement after Lily begrudgingly let go. Soul and Maka sat across from Lily and Henry as Wes lounged on the side, fully emerged in spectator mode, his eyes dancing from parent to sibling. "Are you still working together?" Wes mused.

"It's not hard to do both," Maka was trying on her award-winning smile, the one that made his stomach flip almost as much as the admission.

"And work's going well?" Lily offered, her eyes settling on Maka since Soul's were still focused on that smile, trying to let it thaw him out.

"Well, we've had to…" Maka pressed her lips together.

Soul reached his hand out, stealing Maka's from her lap and squeezing. "Right now we're teaching. No fieldwork for either of us for a while."

Lily was now on the edge of her seat, her eyes back to bugging again, "Is everything alright?"

"We're both fine, Mom, just…" Soul squeezed Maka's hand again, his eyes finally moving from her face to his mother. "Maka's pregnant."

"Oh!" Lily's hands flew to her face, keeping any more sound from her mouth. Another swell of fear hit Maka, ready for the explosion but the only thing to burst were the tears from Lily's eyes as she left her tenuous spot on the edge of the couch and started to move to Maka. "May I, please, would you mind if I hugged you?"

Any answer to that other than '_of course'_ seemed absurd, so Maka stood and met Lily halfway. Hugs weren't alien to her, but this kind of motherly embrace brought a swell of a painful mixture of despair and need, bringing tears to her own eyes. "Thank you, Lily." It was strange that the alienated, forgotten part of the family was the first to embrace this, to let it be exactly what it was instead of a devastating blow.

All of the men watched this with apprehension until the two released, each pausing to clear the tears from their own eyes. Lily finally broke the tension, hands clapping together in exhilaration. "Congratulations!"

"Thank you." It was a whirlwind for Maka then, hugs and hand holdings revolving around the room. Hugging Henry was like being blown over by a gale-force wind, even twirling her off her feet. The strange magical chairs of congratulations ended up with Maka next to Lily, their hands inseparable intertwined as she started the slow prod for information. "I'm almost five months," she offered the start of the rundown as her eyes shot over to Soul.

Soul was watching her as always, his eyes finding hers almost instantly even as his father poured a celebratory drink into the glass in his hand. He offered an anemic smile before focusing back on what his father was saying.

"So halfway!" Lily cooed. "And you're barely showing."

Maka touched at what she considered more than enough of a curve, letting the flowing shirt finally take the shape of it. "I wish it felt that way. But, I'd, um, I'd love it if you could compile me a list of people since my friends, they're throwing me a shower and of course, you should be there, but anyone else you'd like…"

"Oh, I'd love to, and you'll have to let me, us help." There was a begging quality to her voice that surprised Maka as if all of this was asking too much. "And names? Or do you even know the sex?"

"Not yet," Maka murmured, cautious to share her own practically positive intimations. "At my next check-up, we should know more."

"And I'm so glad you're not working," Lily patted at Maka's hands. "And even after the baby's born you could take some time, just be a mother. If you and Soul needed help, you could always rely on us."

Maka couldn't refuse it, the dip in her stomach at the idea. "Oh, Kid, I mean, our boss is allowing us some time after the baby's born but we have work to do. I'm sure Soul's told you-"

"I know, I know, you're practically saving the world," she nodded along with the words to add a seriousness that her voice was leaching away from it. "But you'll have a baby. You should really consider-"

"Mom," Soul snuck up behind her, hand falling flat on her shoulder. "Dad said you had some things put away. Baby stuff?"

"Oh, of course, we do!" Lily jumped to her feet. "Just give me a minute. And then the two of you will stay for dinner, won't you?"

Soul transferred his drink to the other hand so that he could now rest the free one on Maka's shoulder. "Sure, Mom, but just dinner."

"Of course, darling!" She rushed away as if those baby things were on fire rather than just waiting being found.

Maka raised her head, leaning close to Soul. "I'm apparently supposed to become a stay-at-home-mom."

Soul let out a long, lingering sigh as he leaned closer, lips to her ear. "They're happy because you, me, and a kid? Normal. They're happy that I've come home promising them something normal, something that any _normal_ person would do." Each use of the word '_normal' _took a deeper, more bitter tone. "Just wait until we don't get married, or you go back to work, or even worse the kid is a weapon or a meister and then you'll see the cracks."

"Soul…" Maka reached up, her fingers grazing his cheek. "I'm sorry."

"For what?" he grumbled back, fingers moving from her shoulder to tangle in her hair.

"For letting you feel that again," she murmured. "You might not be normal, but you're perfect."

Soul laughed sharply, pulling back his hand with the strands of her hair dancing through his fingers. "I must be since you wouldn't settle for any less."


	16. Madness

Prepare yourself for the angst! I'm sorry (not sorry) that I did this.

* * *

"Group three is _awful_ today," Soul griped as he threw the clipboard next to Maka on the ground.

"Definitely not very teacherly, Soul," Maka corrected as she took one last look at the smattering of students on the training ground. "_Needs improvement_ is kinder."

Soul shook his head, "No enemy is going to tell them they _need improvement_."

Maka sighed, rubbing at her stomach through her shirt. "They're all just nervous. The big mission went out today and the place feels kind of empty. It's eerie."

"Maybe we should get Stein in here, wake 'em up a little," Soul started to smirk but it was cut short by the hiccuped air from her mouth. "What was that?"

"He surprised me," Maka laughed as she tilted forward to free her other hand, both of them coming to her stomach. "Come here!"

"What?" Soul knelt down next to her and she grabbed his hand, slipping it under her shirt and pressing it to the swell of her stomach. "Maka, what-" Her skin trembled beneath his fingers for just a second, Soul moving his hand to try to find it again. "Did he just…?"

"A kick or something," Maka couldn't stop another wave of laughter.

Soul's fingers continued to travel the width of her stomach, searching for that fluttering movement again. "Come on, kid, one more time."

Maka tried to stop his motions, hands clamping over his with a sigh. "It's not exactly comfortable and Soul, the kids, we have to get back to practice."

But just as Maka feared, their boy was more willing to listen to his father even before birth, sending another wave of kicks underneath Soul's fingertips. "There you are," Soul let out a breathless laugh.

Maka had opened her mouth, ready to complain about their child already playing favorites when the first scream hit her ears. "Was that inside?"

"I don't know." Soul stood up quickly. "Teams, over here, now! Circle up!" He reached down, grabbing Maka's arm and bringing her to her feet.

As ordered, the students had started to scramble to the two of them but before Maka or Soul could conceive of the next step there was at least a second scream, this time closer as the door that connected to the practice ground from the school busted open. A few students rushed out, almost falling head over heels before making their way to the class grouping. "The cult," one of the kids gulped.

"Stay together." Soul grabbed the last struggling student by the collar, bringing them to the circle. "Keep with your partners because you're going to fight if you have to, but for right now-"

"Soul," Maka cut him off as her hand grasped his. She motioned towards the hooded figures who were funneling out the door that hadn't even gotten to close after the students. "Teams one and four together, two and three together. Each set takes on one enemy. Soul and I will handle the rest."

"Once we get rid of them, we're running," Soul hissed.

"If we can," Maka shot back. "Let's go." Soul disappeared, changing into the long, lithe weapon in her hand rather than by her side. She started off low, trying to remind herself that airborne wasn't really a safe option as her practice with this new center of gravity had been short-lived. Breathing out a low apology to her captive third wheel, Maka swung and split her first black cape. As she repositioned, Maka let her eyes dart to the student groupings, seeing the slow but maybe not so hazardous progress.

"Don't get cocky," Soul's voice was still a hiss in her ear. "To the left."

"Trying to concentrate on them and the students sucks," Maka griped as she tossed another witch-hunter slash down towards the open door, catching one or two more cultists before busting the wood off its hinges.

As she pulled back for another slash she could feel his hesitation, the slow in both of their movements. "You feel OK?"

"I'm fine," she snapped. "I promise, no maxing out, just need to get this cleared quickly and then we can try your running idea."

"Maka, team three," Soul called.

"Shit." Maka spun on her heels, throwing as much momentum as she could into the tight curve. One of the young meisters, Abigail, was splayed on the floor, her weapon, Chris, out cold next to her. It was a reach but Maka managed to literally take the feet out from underneath the cultist before gliding in to get Abigail back off the ground. "Team two, will you please circle up with team three! Let's go! No time for half-assed teamwork."

"Don't worry, darling, teamwork's not necessary anymore." The honeyed voice dripped into Maka's ear and she could barely stop herself from whipping her head around. Unlike the others, this woman did not wear the long black robe but a black trenchcoat, split with the surprising red of a tank top dress underneath. Her black hair was buzzed close to her scalp with violet eyes that glowed with delight. In her hand, she clenched the head of a student still thankfully attached to a limp hanging body, a girl who Maka could not recognize. "Mostly because I found the team I was looking for, Maka Albarn and the famous _Death's Last Weapon_."

"Maka," Soul growled.

"You made me go through such an awful lot of trouble," the woman lifted the student in her hand, studying the fresh droplets of blood that the movement elicited. "Since who would have imagined the great pair who defeated Arachne would _retire_! How droll."

"Who are you and what do you want with us?" Maka was slowly edging closer to the students, hand not holding Soul outstretched as if to guide them all into place.

"The witch Druscilla, obviously, and punishment, of course. Your list of crimes is a long one, and I'm sure I don't exactly have the time to go through all of them. But let's just put Arachne and tarnishing the book at the head and be done with this conversation." Druscilla dropped the student with a sickly crunch, her eyes sparkling as she shook the blood from her hands. "Now, let's let the children run off and play so it's just the three of us." Druscilla stood aside from the door with a flourish. "They can leave, my word of honor. I even withdrew my compatriots as soon as I found where you were."

"I can't promise it's just us," Maka started, "Kid's not going to be happy you busted into his school, and Stein-"

"You're wasting time," Druscilla purred as she snapped her fingers. A soft mutter came from her lips and suddenly there were no students, there was no building, just the training ground floor surrounded by fog.

"This is… spatial magic," Maka murmured.

"Correct, and now, yes, we are alone. For the next hour, or until I die, or maybe until the two of you die and I get bored," she grinned. "Now, can we get on with it?"

"Soul…"

"Yeah, I know." She didn't have to ask, to even breathe a word about it because the little ogre on the piano bench was already looking his way, that slick smile smeared across his face. Madness was what he had to offer, Black Blood spilled on white keys.

* * *

Stein was watching Marie check the last of the students before he brought his attention back to Kid. If Kid's hands could dig any harder into his hips they'd be grabbing his intestines as he focused on the hazy blur that was the rest of the training field. It was as if high summer had come early and the waves of heat were coming off the ground, making everything in front of him look like a mirage. "Is Black Star on his way?" his voice sounded like he did have his guts in his fists.

"He's clearing out the last of the cult on campus, though there's not many to speak of." Stein put out a hand for Marie who took it, pulling her from her squat position over one of the suffering students.

"All the students said that's where Druscilla took Soul and Maka," Marie added softly, the news like poison off her tongue.

Kid weighted calling Maba but threw it to the side, another gut reaction that wasn't necessarily for the good of all of them. Maka and Soul had to fight and calling in a witch's favor, even if she would consider it, was dangerous. _It's just a witch, just a witch and Maka has fought Asura. _"Did you call back the rest of the team? If she's here, that mission was utterly pointless from the beginning."

"Asuza is redirecting them." Stein nodded towards the barrier, "What actions are we taking with this?"

"What actions can we take?" Kid felt his composure crack, his voice coming as a hiss. "We let them fight."

* * *

_I'm tired_, Maka moaned in her head. _I'm tired, and I'm slow, and the baby, oh, Death, the baby._ The black dress, that beautiful armor that Soul could cultivate, was starting to lean more towards tatters as tiny trickles of blood marred each rip. They were spines or needles, Maka couldn't be sure since they moved so fast, zinging past her in endless supply. _If I was faster, if I could just be faster_.

"Maka, concentrate," Soul urged. "Fix on her wavelength. I can try the Soul Adagio if you-"

"If it backfires you'll be done." She tried to save her breath as she was forced to do another slide, the skin of her right leg raked raw against the hard earth.

"You can't keep this up," he growled back. "So we have to take a chance."

None of it sounded acceptable in the grand scheme of things. Maka didn't have a fleeting second, but her mind still took one, wondering what it would be like if they were normal like Soul's parents hoped for, if the two of them lived in a world where she didn't have to choose between what felt like death or death. Their resonance always felt like a heat blossoming from her head to her toes and she let that feeling wave over her again, letting him come with her to reach out for Druscilla's soul. It was black and covered in needles, that's what they were, not spines but like an urchin from the bottom of some murky depth.

His fingers were a blur on the keys as they created the antithesis of Druscilla's sound, but just as the thunder exploded from his the piano he felt it claw back into him, ripping under his nails and pulling apart the tendons in his arms and making them numb and limp. "Fuck," he moaned out as the reality overwhelmed him.

"No! Soul!" Maka howled as he suddenly wasn't in her hands anymore but withering on his knees. She grabbed his shoulders, trying to shake him free but he was immobile. As she tried to swing him again she felt the hand tighten around her throat, her detached hold on him sending him collapsing on his side in a puff of dust.

"How delicious, that you'd underestimate me, that you wouldn't think I'd do my homework." Druscilla tightened her hold around Maka's throat, ignoring as Maka's fingernails scraped at her wrist.

"Maka," the sound of her name barely leaked from his throat as he started a slow writhing on the ground.

"Oh, oh, oh!" Druscilla cawed with excitement. "I see it, I see it now! Of course, you would have to retire. What a beautiful little belly you have, Maka, darling." Druscilla kicked a cloud of dust into Soul's face, laughter erupting from her mouth as he coughed. "How rude of you not to tell me the big news. When are you due? Or should I say, when would you have been due?"

"No." It was meant to be a scream but all Soul's throat could handle was another croak as he somehow managed to curl his knees under him.

"But, yes, Soul, I think that's part of a perfectly fitting punishment." Druscilla swung Maka closer to him, her feet dangling just within Soul's grasp before yanking her in the other direction, throwing her with enough force to crack her against the barrier.

The bile swelled from Soul's mouth at the sick, wet thunk that echoed as Maka hit. "No."

"Oh, yes," Druscilla chimed as she knelt down next to him. "And now, I think, the best way to end this is to let you watch her die. No baby, no wife, no future. That sounds _wonderful_."

But superimposed over her was the little ogre, his face a horrible opposite of the amused Druscilla. "No baby, no Maka, no future," it repeated. "Is that what you want? Is that who you are? A useless weapon without his meister?"

"I can save her," he groaned as his arms started to extend, bringing him on all fours.

The sickly grin crossed the ogre's face. "Sure you can, if you're mad enough."

* * *

If Marie didn't know the situation, the sight would be hysterical. All four of them, Kid, Stein, Spirit, and Black Star, were standing with hands digging into hips, eyes focused on the distance. They looked halfway between a band of superheroes mourning a tough day and a boyband ready for a video shoot. Liz, Patty, Tsubaki and herself were standing quietly behind, more intent on the soft touches of hands and bumps of shoulders to offer even an ounce of reassurance. Marie was sure there was none to be had, especially as the time was ticking closer to a half-hour and she knew the tiredness that came with carrying around another human being. It took everything she had not to tell herself that there wasn't a nightmare waiting on the other end of that barrier.

"It's faltering," Stein called out, pointing to a tear in the ripple effect. "Marie."

"Ready," Marie moved right beside him, her hand slipping into his.

The haze dropped away like a curtain, leaving just Soul standing in the middle of the field, his back to the group.

"Maka!" Spirit started, moving to the limp mass that was just three feet from him. His daughter's name continued to spurt from his lips as he turned her over, watching as her head lolled to the side, mouth slightly ajar. The only saving grace was the breath that he saw flutter from her lips.

"Give her to me." It was a sick gurgle from the middle of the field, Soul slowly just rotating the top of his body, creating a sick lean to catch sight of them. "Give me Maka."

"Fuck," Black Star barely let the word from his lips but there was no way to deny it.

Tears, like black oil, were drifting down Soul's cheeks. "Give her to me!" he screeched as he finally came to a full pivot, his body lurching forward. A thick slice of Black Blood saturated his shirt over his scar.

"It's the orbs all over again," Stein murmured. "Spirit, get Maka out of there, now!"

Spirit didn't waste his breath on a reply, just trying to ease his arms underneath her to move her as gently as possible. As he turned, he heard the inhuman scream, a shockwave hitting his back hard enough to urge him forward. It was Kid and the girls that grabbed him, bringing him into a circle as Black Star, Stein and Marie slipped into the divide. "We subdue him with Soul Menace, give Marie enough time to use her Healing Wavelength. We can't rely on Maka or Kim for this, so we have to be careful of the sound waves."

"He won't even get a chance to use them." Black Star burst forward, trying to draw Soul's attention.

There was no thought to draw, Soul pitched forward as the black dripped from his face into the dust. "Give her to me! Give me Maka!" came as the constant scream, repeating as soon as it ended in a sickly gurgle from his throat.

Black Star threw himself into the hand to hand, finding that even with the screams and what should be unseeing eyes, Soul blocked his every move. "Soul, get it together!" Black Star shouted as Soul deflected another punch to his center. "We don't have time for you to steal the fucking show while she's hurt."

"Maka!" His voice was breaking, the words starting to crack with each iteration.

"Twin Spears," Stein murmured as he shot both hands into Soul's back. Black Star barely moved out of the way, just enough not to get the direct hit of Soul's body flying forward but still latched on to tumble with him in the dust. "Marie!"

She was there to meet the boys, both hands moving to cup Soul's dirt and Black Blood covered face. She let out a shaking breath, her heart aching as Soul's mouth gaped open in a silent scream. Black Star arms strained around Soul, keeping his body immobile against the ground. "Franken," Marie called, her fingers still gripping into Soul's cheeks.

"What is it?" Stein knelt next to her, a hand coming to her arm with the expectation that she'd let go but finding her unmoving.

"I don't think I can let go," she tried to keep her voice low, the strain of the words almost too much to bear. "He's not… he's not coming back. It's like limbo and I can keep it at bay, but…"

"Alright, Marie." Stein moved his hand from her arm to her hair, smoothing it gently. "Keep it up for as long as you can."

Marie let out a stuttering sigh, her eyes lingering over Black Star as he blinked up at her. It was torture, the way he was suddenly a child looking to her to restore his best friend, while Maka, the closest thing that she had to a daughter, was also in a place unreachable, unfixable. She let out a low moan, the tears threatening to spill from her eyes. _Why did what they built have to be a house of cards?_


	17. Loss and Gain

This is probably not the twist you were hoping for (?!), but I swear I'm moving towards something like a happy ending?

* * *

If Maka didn't open her eyes, then it couldn't all be real. She could stay right there in the dream, the limbo before reality hit that she was alone in the entirety of the word. In her mind, she could have her son. She could have Soul. As she clutched the thin sheet in between her fingers she knew the cold truth, there wasn't a son, just a strangely filled emptiness, and no matter her reaching she couldn't feel Soul, not in the room, not next to her.

"Maka?" Spirit whispered, his hand moving over the top of her fist dug into the bed.

"No," she gasped for air as her eyes shot open. "No, no, no," the chant continued as she beat her hands into the mattress, Spirit trying in vain to stop the movement.

"I know, honey, I know." Spirit gave up on her hands, moving instead to clear the hair from her face and then work on the tears.

"Soul," she howled and tried to jut forward, Spirit barely moving his hands in time to keep her pinned to the bed.

"He's in Stein's office. We couldn't risk him being up here, not with all the hurt kids." Spirit kept his hands clamped to her shoulders even as he felt the pressure from her release.

"Risk him?" Maka blinked, sure she was still stuck in the dream. "What do you mean, Papa?"

Spirit shook his head mournfully. "Marie's trying to purge the madness, Maka, but-"

"The Black Blood," she groaned as she renewed the pressure, fighting against him until the cramping in her stomach became unbearable.

"Maka, stop!" Spirit hated the shout and immediately lowered his voice, risking moving one hand back to her hair. "You're hurt. The internal bleeding was enough that… well…"

"My baby's gone," she murmured. "I know. I don't feel him anymore. He's gone."

"I'm sorry, Maka." He wished his hands were like Marie's, holding that healing at his fingertips but all he could offer her was more useless strokes of her hair before moving to clear away the endless trail of tears.

Suddenly her hand was tight on his wrist, her nails digging into the skin. "Take me to him."

In vain, Spirit tried to break free but found her somehow rabid with strength. "Maka, I told you, you're hurt. Moving you could-"

"I don't care," she used every last ounce of breath in her lungs creating a scream bordering on feral. "Bring me to Soul, or bring him to me if you have to!"

"I'll… I'll get him, Maka, just promise me you won't move." Spirit started to pull back his wrist again and she relented, her eyes still burning through him as he took another step back. "Please, stay still."

Maka let her focus fall to the ceiling, no breath or energy available for an answer. As she counted her heartbeats, she let her fingers linger from the sheets to her stomach. A warbling groan left her lips as she realized the swell of her stomach was still there, the shape not instantly disappearing in the fashion of her son's soul. She gripped at the skin, kneading into it as if that were all it would require to bring back the movement they'd enjoyed what felt like just hours ago. Instead, it was exactly as she knew it to be, empty.

As her beats reached the thousands she heard the scuffling in the hall, the cacophony of voices in tones that undulated from panicked to angry. It was Marie who entered first, her face drained and exhausted but in no way diminishing her drive to put her hands on Maka, to feel the warmth and life pulsing through her skin. "Maka?"

"Marie…" Fresh tears spouted from her eyes as those gently, motherly hands started to clear them away.

Marie's hands drifted across her cheeks, her shoulders, her hand, fixing every last wrinkle or tear. "Oh, Maka, I'm sorry, so sorry."

And Maka could feel it, the regret seeping out of every touch. "Marie, Soul. Papa promised to bring Soul."

"He's right outside." Marie hesitantly looked to the curtain and then back at Maka. "Stein and Kid are kind of fighting about it right now, and he's sedated, so…" Marie stopped her soothing hands as she saw the urgency in Maka's eyes. "Give me a second."

"Soul," Maka moaned.

Marie tried to ignore the way that plunged a needle into her heart and walked back behind the sheet. She came almost face to face with Soul's lolling head as Stein held him like a baby in his arms. "It's dangerous either way," Stein tried to keep his voice to a whisper, knowing the sound blocking capabilities of sheets.

"It could tumble them both back into Madness," Kid hissed for what felt like the thirtieth time but the logic still wasn't sticking to Stein, that blank blinking still on his face.

"Or Maka's Anti-Demon wavelength along with Marie's healing becomes the only way we pull him out of this hole," this was Stein's own reiteration, the theory he'd floated all the way up the stairs.

"Bring him in," Marie butted between the two of them, making each jump. "She's going to get out of that bed and kill herself doing it if you don't. Lay him right now next to her, let her have him." Kid sucked the air through his teeth as Stein followed his wife's orders, stopping only to let her move the curtain for him.

There was no way to describe the layers of pain. It started with moving in the bed, trying to clear enough space for Soul as her back and stomach protested violently. She sputtered out a breath when the next wave came as she saw the limp, slack quality to a face that was always so emotive to her, that was constantly wearing away at her heart with those smirks and smiles. Stein rested Soul in the space Maka had made, just in time to see the last wave of agony hit her face. _He's going to wake up, and I'm going to have to tell him._

"Maka, let's try this together, OK?" Marie moved behind Soul, resting her hand on his stark white hair. "Resonate and I'm going to try to break in. If we can team up, you and I, I think we can pull him out."

"OK." Maka leaned her face towards his, brushing her lips quickly against the ones that refused to smile before sinking her forehead against his. "Soul, please."

He was at the piano and had been for hours, beating away at white keys that were now red as he bludgeoned his fingertips raw. It was his voice, too, that had scratched away, now just a wheezing breath of sound to punctuate each note, a pathetic whimper of, "I want my son."

When she realized the words coming from his mouth her heart lurched into her throat along with the crushing feeling of her lungs resisting air. Maka willed her feet forward, her hands finally coming to his shoulders as he turned to see her haloed against the inky darkness.

"Maka?" His bloody fingers grabbed at her, pulling her forward so he could press his face against her stomach. While this wasn't reality, it sadly reflected it, leaving him no hill to lay on, just the flat, tight skin of months ago. "The baby, our baby…"

"No, Soul," she murmured as he ran her fingers through his hair.

"No," it was a sick, inhuman wail from this throat. "No, no, I tried to protect you. I hurt her. I _killed_ her."

"You did," Maka continued to stroke through his white tresses. She noticed the room starting to brighten and felt that searching from elsewhere, the soft call of Marie. As he tightened his grip on her, Maka turned her attention back to the mop of hair against her stomach. "You did everything you could do."

"But the baby," he moaned. "I want our baby. I want my son!" It was a feral, dark cry and Maka could feel him shutting Marie out as that inky darkness lapped at her heels.

_He wants his son, he wants his boy, and you do, too, don't you? _the Madness whispered at her back.

"Soul," it was the firmest voice she could manage with the tremble of the truth of that call from the darkness. Maka took a step back, finding it hard to resist his arms as she had to fight with him for space, her hands ending up clutching to his cheeks. "He's gone. Staying here won't bring him back. Playing won't bring him back. Nothing in this world can bring him back."

"No," he wailed again.

"But I need you," she screamed back. "You're not allowed to stay here, to give up and leave me with this! He may be gone but I'm still here, Soul!" It took everything she had not to dig her fingers into his cheeks.

"It's not fair," he murmured.

A trembling breath came from her mouth, Maka losing hold on the strength she'd come there with. "No, it's not, but I-"

"No," Soul grabbed his hands over hers, "I'm not being fair. It's both of us, isn't it? It's not just me and I forgot that. You're out there, aren't you? Awake and you _know_-"

"And I need you," she cried again, shaking his head in her hands. "I need you to wake up right now and make it feel like I haven't lost everything."

"I'm sorry, Maka." He stood as he pulled her hands from his face, moving them instead to cradle them against his chest. "I'm sorry I forgot that it's you. I want you, too."

"Then show me," Maka leaned herself closer. Soul met her without hesitation, pressing his lips against hers as it felt like the sun finally parted the clouds, the warm light filtering onto Maka's face.

"Maka?" It was the worst her name had ever sounded off his lips but his throat was shredded, an awful reminder of not just the dream but the reality of the field.

Maka wanted to open her eyes and still feel that sun, the glow that Marie had afforded in their resonance but it was instead to the cold reality, just his battered face looking at hers. "Soul…"

"Oh, thank Death!" Marie leaned forward and without even thinking planted her lips against Soul's hair.

"Hey, Marie," he croaked as he reached up a shaking hand to pat in her direction, meeting her shoulder awkwardly before instantly floating to Maka's arm. "How hurt?"

"I'll live," Maka whispered through a trembling smile. "But…"

Soul let out a trembling breath, a short nod. It was the worst game of chicken in their life, a test of who was going to cry first as they locked eyes. Soul gave in, hiding the sound of his choking with the creak of the bed as he shifted closer and hid his face against her neck. Maka adjusted to let him disappear against her as the ache in her chest fought with the stabbing in her stomach.

* * *

Bringing Maka home wasn't like the last time, no high romantics as Soul wasn't even well enough to lift her. Instead, Spirit carried her and Soul was left with a firm arm that Marie insisted on giving. It was bed-rest for the two of them, Soul requiring a hand on her almost at all times like a tether away from the Madness. She still heard it at night, when the nightmares started to boil in his brains, that raging call of his blood. That was the most noise she seemed to hear from him since while Soul could never have been considered a talker, he now bordered on mute. Maka was starting to fear the only words left in his vocabulary were "I love you."

So waking up in the middle of the night and finding him not tangled in the sheets, his mind not screaming for her was an odd sensation. Maka still ached as she slipped out of the bed, recovery working at a snail's pace since her mind was hurt just as much as her body, but she forced herself onto her feet. She didn't have to go far, seeing him sitting in the middle of the second bedroom as soon as she got into the hallway. Her foot creaking against the floorboard swiveled his head and Soul stared up at her. "Go back to sleep."

"Why do you get to have all the fun?" she murmured in reply as she walked the rest of the way into the room.

"Bed rest, Maka," he muttered.

"I'll take floor rest for a second. Pretty sure it's the same thing." Maka sank to the floor next to him, grabbing his arm to move it out of the way so she could rest her head on his lap.

With a sigh he repositioned his legs, giving her more comfortable space to rest her head. Soul leaned back on his hands, eyes still focused on the slats of the crib.

Maka was staring up at him, watching the stony set of his jaw that hadn't melted away since the dispensary. It was starting to set his smirk askew and she hated it. "I think we should name him."

That sent the muscle in his jaw trembling. "Why?"

"He was here," Maka shrugged. "He didn't get the life he deserved, so at least maybe a good name."

His sigh was more like a low breath, trying to keep everything in his mind in check. "OK."

"Did you have any in mind?" Maka touched her fingertips to his chin, hoping that would bring his eyes down but they remained focused. Instead, she played with the stubble there.

"Maybe." His jaw was relaxing ever so slightly as her fingers ran under it.

"What about… Spencer?"

Soul grunted.

"Mark."

"Boring."

"Aiden."

"Lame."

Maka stopped the stroke and replaced it with a hard poke, setting his teeth together. "Well? You think of one."

"Dean."

"Eh," Maka laughed softly, "And are we talking like James Dean? You're too predictable. Leather jacket, motorcycle."

Soul snorted. "Oliver."

"Now you're just messing with me," Maka poked again. "Pick a real one."

"Jack."

"That's so plain," Maka groaned.

"But you'll like the reason for that one." Maka was not only intrigued by the set-up but by the fact he'd strung together more than four words. Soul's eyes finally drifted down to her, a hint of amusement twinkling from the scarlet. "It's from a book I read."

Maka let a smile stretch across her lips, a secret prayer that she'd see it reflected in his face."What? The biography of Jack Nicholson? Who I do _not_ want our child named after, thank you."

"No, fiction," he did offer her the smallest of smiles, a sixteenth of a Soul smirk. "_The Talisman._"

"A Stephen King book?" Maka started up on her elbow.

"Maka, slow, you're still-" The swift movement shut the latch again as Soul's hand went to her stomach before shooting back as if it had touched a hot flame. "Sorry."

Maka grabbed for the airborne hand that had just touched at the disappeared swell. "Sorry for what?"

"Your stomach, I shouldn't," he murmured as his eyes went back to the slats, his wrist going limp in her hand.

Maka tugged his hand the first few inches easily but felt him tense as soon as she tried to pull it further than her chest. "Do you think it bothers me?"

"Doesn't it?"

"No," Maka shook her head firmly as she forced him the rest of the way, pressing his resistant fist against her stomach. "It's different, sure, but it's a stomach, Soul. I've filled it with food more times than you or I can count, I flop on it when I'm settling down to read, you used to tease at it sometimes before letting your hand drift lower." She felt his fingers unfurl, tensing over the fabric of her nightshirt. "Now, tell me about Jack."

Soul took a deep breath as his eyes drifted down to his settled hand. _It's just a stomach_, he had to reiterate to himself, and it was. Just a flat, waiting to be toned with training stomach. "Jack's scared but brave enough when it counts. He loves his friends but he still struggles with treating them right. He does the best that he can, and in the end, he saves what needs saving."

Maka hummed thoughtfully. "OK, Jack. Jack Evans."

"Jack Albarn," Soul quickly corrected. "We're taking your last name."

She eased the rest of the way up to sitting but her back leaned against his legs to keep herself practically in his lap, her arm coming to the other side of him to plant near his hip. "We?"

"Me, too." Soul slid his hand from her stomach up to her neck to cradle right under her chin. "Please."

"That makes it sound like we're married," she murmured.

"Don't think we have to be." Soul could feel the ache in his mouth and in his heart as the smile started. It felt unfair to smile, but if there was one thing he should give to her, he was starting to feel like that was it. "Can just be a reminder that you'll always choose me. I'll always choose you."

"You almost didn't, Soul," Maka's reminder didn't come gently, even with that quality to her voice. "And I'm trying to give you time, space, but since we got home I've been scared-"

"Don't be," his grip tightened ever so slightly before bringing her closer. The kiss was exactly the punctuation that statement needed, a possessive pull on her lips that tore the worry right from her mouth. "I'm sorry. It hurts, and I'm hurting, but I have to stop forgetting. I know that and I'm fucking working on it, but I'll always choose you."

Maka stole a few more kisses before sighing out a shaky breath. "What are we going to do about this room?"

Soul wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her the rest of the way into his lap. It was a strange thawing like his muscles were finally easing back in the vicinity of normal and he found himself compelled to press his face into her hair, kissing her temple. "We'll figure it out when you're a hundred percent."

"You just want to make sure I have to move stuff," she grumbled.

His soft chuckle reverberated against her ear, sending a thrill down her spine. He enhanced that tingle as he pressed his lips by her ear and whispered, "I love you."

"Love you." Maka relaxed as she enjoyed the safe pressure of his arms, his steady breath against her neck. She tried to remind herself that this was the only constant life could afford her so far and as long as she had him there was something at least close to solid ground under her feet.


	18. Anniversary

Back to a little bit of happiness since I hurt you badly in the last chapters.

* * *

Marie was trying to test the energy in the room, eyes zinging between Stein and Soul like she was watching a ping-pong match rather than two men sit across from each other, one in the armchair and one on the couch. "Where's Maka?" Marie tried to pleasantly fill the absence of sound.

"She went to Spirit's," Soul answered evenly, eyes just spending enough time on Marie's face not to be rude.

"So you come to visit my husband?" Marie added with a quick blink to Stein.

Soul ran his hands on the legs of his pants, once again trying to get rid of the sweaty palms that had been plaguing him since that morning. "I came for advice."

"Advice," Marie's voice went up a few octaves as her eyes narrowed at Stein.

Stein shrugged at her, offering his hands innocently. "You told me to work on being more personable."

Marie huffed before crossing her arms. "Well, I _guess_ it's me and Ben for the morning, then. Enjoy your little…" She simply motioned between the two of them, unsure of even what to define that moment as. _Is this a father-son talk? Is my husband, Franken Stein, giving a normal, mentor-like moment of advice?_ Without an answer to her own thoughts, Marie left the room and tried to kill every urge to eavesdrop.

"So…" Stein moved one of those innocent hands to twirl his finger, trying to pull the threads of thought from Soul's mouth.

"Can you explain it to me again?" Soul muttered.

Stein sighed, "You mean what the doctor said?" Soul only nodded but that was enough encouragement. "Trauma to the body during pregnancy is dangerous. I told you, pregnancy can be a delicate thing and even though Maka was fairly far along that didn't put your son in the position to survive."

"So just the fighting itself…" Soul continued to rub his hands, not just a layer of sweat there but guilt like the Black Blood was still saturating his fingers.

Stein shook his head slowly, "No one can be sure the level of stress it took, but I'm going to guess it was more a complication of the battle with Druscilla herself, not the henchmen."

Soul sucked his teeth before freezing his movement, clenching his hands into his knees. "I couldn't save him."

"But I think we've come to the conclusion before that you were able to save her, so isn't that enough?" Stein stood up slowly. "Come outside with me."

"What?" But Soul got to his feet anyway. "Why?"

"Because talking about this makes me need a cigarette and Marie will kill me." Stein shrugged as he started the walk from the living room to the sliding glass doors. He opened one and motioned Soul through it, following after an uncertain look at the back of the boy's head. _What does he want me to tell him other than what I already have? Repetitive questions just to tear at his guts. It'd be easier if I just used a scalpel._

Soul leaned against the railing, watching as Stein hunkered down in a plastic lawn chair. He picked up an innocent enough looking lawn gnome, turning it over in his hands and extracting a pack of cigarettes from its bottom. "I thought you quit." Soul knew the addition was unnecessary but needed something to fill the time it was taking him to set up.

Stein put a cigarette in his mouth, lit it, and grimaced at the stale taste. "Everyone, including Marie, should continue to think that." It was _almost_ the truth, anyway, since this pack had lasted him the last few months, but he found himself smoking more than once in contemplative silence on this particular problem. "You saved Maka, Soul. You saved your meister. You did your job. I know it doesn't feel that way because you lost something else." _Especially since that something else wasn't tangible, _but Stein trounced that thought as soon as he had it, superimposing Marie and Ben over the picture of Maka and her baby. His mind didn't even want to paint the picture of what could have happened to Marie on the moon.

Soul's fingernails dug into the wood of the rail, the struggle making the next sentence come out as a bark, "She could… she could still get pregnant again, right?"

Stein blinked at him, taking another long drag on his cigarette. "Medical opinion? Sure. Your loss wasn't a genetic problem, it was a witch problem. Maka's body should have healed by now. It's been what, eight weeks? You could probably be having sex now just fine." Stein leaned forward, elbows on his knees as he jutted the ember towards Soul. "But _could_ and _should_ are two different things."

"But that room, every time I look at that room-"

"You want to fill it, I know," Stein sighed and took the time to cycle through three more puffs, hoping that Soul wouldn't break his thoughts before Stein could get this off his tongue. "Close the door, Soul."

"What?"

"You don't have to tear it down," Stein shook his head, "Actually, I know you wouldn't be able to. You can't, and I understand that. But shut it, for now. Shut it and give yourself time away from it. That was something that you had to do. Give it time to be something that you want to do."

"But I want-" _My son_, and he felt the burn in his scar again, that Madness lapping at the first sign of that weakness. He'd been better, eight weeks worth of better, but it was still there, ready to latch onto that thought every time.

"You want to fill a hole." Stein opened the pack again, looked forlornly at the half a dozen left before plucking another out. He lit this one off the butt before tamping the finished one on the bottom of his shoe and hiding it in his pocket. "But, again, fill it with something else for now. Maybe put the effort into actually having a relationship before adding parenting to the equation."

Soul let out a long, warbling sigh, the end coughing out with the extra kick of tears. "Fuck, Stein."

"Fuck, indeed," Stein echoed him, just without the tears as he took another long drag. "How many conversations have you had with Maka?"

"One or two." It wasn't just the tears choking him at that point but the guilt. Giving the baby a name was the first one, the second one just a quick before bed check-in, more so about her body than anything else. Just the regular '_Are you in pain?'_ and '_Is there something I can do?'_ before falling into a fitful sleep. He probably shouldn't even count the second one.

"That's a pathetic number, even for you," Stein grumbled. "Work on that."

"Homework," Soul let out a rueful laugh.

"If I have to," Stein gave that old menacing grin. "I think going over this again, Soul, would be useless. I'm going to suggest that any further discussion on this gets tabled with Maka, not me."

"OK." Soul nudged the wood of the deck with his shoe, focusing on that instead of the borderline admonishment he was getting. "Just feel stuck."

"Which should give you your own answer. Who do you usually turn to?"

Soul brought her up in his mind's eye like he'd done a million times before, especially that view of her face close to his, her honey hair spread across the pillow and her green eyes glowing in the early morning light. That just woken up look would always be how he liked her best and that was the only place to start when he was at his worst. "Maka."

* * *

Maka had just gotten out of the shower and had, in a moment of quiet exhaustion, thrown herself back on the bed. Work had felt like an eternity and every single student was knocking at the ceiling of maximum neediness. Worse yet, Soul had already been in the shower when she got home, leaving her without the absolutely necessary welcome home kiss and lingering hug, only receiving a quick peck as they changed places. As she lay there the final straw came to mind, the reality dawning on her that it was her night to cook. Soul caught her in the middle of the fluttering of her legs in the throes of a tantrum.

"Am I interrupting?" He grinned as he leaned against the doorframe.

"I hate today," she groaned.

"That's too bad." He chuckled to himself. "Put on something nice, Maka."

"What? Why?" Maka propped herself up on her elbows, finally realizing he was in slacks and a button-down with his tie stuffed haphazardly in his pocket.

"Because you hate today," he shrugged. "Let's go."

"Soul!" But he was out of the doorway and probably had no ears for her complaints anyway. Maka sat up dumbly, letting her towel fall to the bed. _Something nice_ hadn't been on her radar for months, definitely hitting a huge fallout as soon as Jack was a solid picture in her mind. _Oh, Jack,_ she took a few breaths to feel it, the wave of a mixture of regret, sadness, and longing, before shelving it. Soul had something planned and she was sure that Jack didn't have to be a part of that.

Maka slipped on the quintessential little black dress, the only thing that she really trusted to hide that bit of her body that still refused to return. What Maka considered bland still floored Soul who'd been not so patiently waiting in the hallway. He let out a wolfish whistle as Maka rolled her eyes. "Stop it."

He blatantly ignored the complaint, his hand brushing the back of her thigh. "Are those heels?"

"You might have to carry me by the end of the night." Maka swatted away his hand but ended up grabbing it, instantly getting pulled down the hallway. "Where are we going, anyway?"

"You'll see," and he actually had the nerve to wink at her.

Maka wasn't sure if she wanted to be elated or huffing. She had been ninety-nine percent sure today was the absolute worst and she was well prepared to start the griping as they hit the pavement. Except Soul was dressed up, tie and all even though that was his most hated clothing item, and he was talking, as in full sentences and if he could keep that up there was no way she'd be able to keep hating tonight. "Are we going out on a date?" Maka tugged on his arm, getting just a quick glance back in her direction.

"What else would it be?"

She tried to rush forward a few steps, her heels clicking against the concrete so she could analyze his face. "I distinctly remember you saying ties were for weddings and funerals only, so are Black Star and Tsubaki eloping?"

Soul snorted a laugh. "You think Black Star would elope? Mr. Center-of-attention?"

"True…" Maka narrowed her eyes again, that stare so hard that Soul couldn't keep himself from looking at her or risk it burning through him.

"I've worn a tie before." He sighed as he reached out his other hand to press a finger into her cheek, shooing her face forward. "Keep that stare to yourself."

She begrudgingly let him move her sight forward, leaving her to scan down the roadway to see what he was actually leading her to. "You're acting fishy."

"You're just hungry," he smirked.

"That's true, too, but…" Maka edited herself, again trying to let the enjoyment of jovial conversation set in. _This is us, this sounds and feels like us and that's a relief._

Soul brought her to an abrupt halt, twirling her towards the door of one of those establishments that would require him to wear a tie. "Inside."

"Did you make a reservation?" She almost cooed it, tampering down the excitement.

"'Course." He opened the door as his hand smoothly came to the small of her back, easing her through the opening. "And dinner's on me."

"What a kind offer," she rolled her eyes at him since their pocketbooks hadn't been separate for years, the reality of doing just about everything together making joint finances a must.

Soul was intent on keeping his hand right in its spot, leading her from hostess to table without his fingers losing contact. Even as she sat down he was hesitant to withdraw, instead leaning closer and planting a kiss on her cheek before leaving for his own seat. "Leave room for dessert."

Maka snorted, "That isn't even hard."

Dinner untied some kind of knot in Maka, a hardness that she had not even known was there until she felt what it was like to breathe without it. Soul was laughing, smirking without the twisted clench of his jaw, words still not exactly his forte but the rust was starting to flake off. Both of them were easing back into each other, dinner nothing more than a breeze. When it came to dessert, Soul always begged off, this time no different as Maka perused the menu. "Get the strawberry shortcake." His hands slipped over the outside of the menu's folds and eased it closed on her fingers. "I want a bite."

"Get your own!" Maka hissed as she struggled to get her fingers free.

"You love me, so share." Soul dropped his hands, laughing as Maka fumbled with the menu now freed.

She huffed and puffed, but as the waiter got there she did just as asked and when the plate came she loaded the first forkful and hovered it across the table to him, hand underneath to save from any possible catastrophe. "One bite."

"One bite," he laughed before opening wide.

Maka brought the fork safely to his mouth, not being able to stop her own smile at the contented, know-it-all smirk that was gracing his lips. "You're ridiculous."

"Sure," he nodded before leaning on his elbow to watch her devour the rest of the sugary treat.

Maka barely stopped herself from licking the plate before turning her attention to the other sweet thing at the table, the man who'd spent the whole evening being himself. "Home?"

"One more stop," he murmured before signaling for the check. While waiting, he was staring again, paying close attention to the way her lips moved and as they finally stood to leave his hand was like a magnet, right back against the small of her back.

The night air was a little cooler and Soul moved his arm around her, giving her just enough of his body heat. Her eyes were scanning the nameplates again, finally falling on one that startled a heated familiarity in her gut. _Howl at the Moon._ "Soul…"

"I feel like you owe me a dance." He smirked as he grabbed her close enough that the two of them could slide through the doorway. Soul's luck was impeccable as a steady slow song had just started, allowing for him to pull her straight to the dancefloor.

"You are acting fishy." That only came out as a dazzled whisper as he whisked her into his arms, her center pressed to him as he intertwined their fingers.

"Guess I can't blame it on you being hungry anymore, huh?" He pressed his lips to her forehead, letting them linger there. "Maybe I was thinking about our first kiss today."

"'_I liked you the moment you touched my hand after I played for you the first time. It was like a spark shot me the moment our skin met._'" Maka slid her hand from his shoulder to Soul's chest, looking for the thundering of his heart like it had been that night. Instead, it was still his settled, cool beat.

"You have to admit, that was pretty smooth. Wasn't expecting your reaction though," he laughed before bringing his lips away from her forehead, wanting to see those glowing green eyes. "But having you order me to kiss you was one of the best moments of my life."

"I didn't order you," she grumbled.

"Sure sounded like it," Soul grinned. "Plus I kind of like it when you order me around."

"I want that in writing," Maka chirped back instantly. Young Maka had been worried about the show, the eyes in the room that added to the murky nervousness of first date jitters, but this Maka had no problem with tilting her chin and catching his lips with hers.

He grunted out a hum of approval, stealing a few extra linger caresses of her lips before leaning his head back slightly. He filled the space with a sigh before whispering, "I've been a bad boyfriend, Maka."

"What?" She grinned at him, ready for the playful act but instead found that solemn set coming back to his jaw. "Soul, no, I don't think so."

"I let myself get wrapped up in, well, the shit lately and I let this go for too long. _This_ is how we are, right? Tonight?" He waited for her but Maka only nodded in reply. "So I may not be half as nervous as that first date, but I kind of wanted to relive it a little." He leaned in, saving this part to breathe out against her ear, "Even that strawberry taste on your lips."

Maka couldn't stop the blush even if she wanted to and felt that electric slide of nerves down her spine as he took another calculated breath next to her ear. "Maybe I don't hate today," she murmured.

"Good," he withdrew his face from its hiding spot as his smile started to recover. "Especially since it's kind of our anniversary."

"What?" Maka couldn't help the octave raise, her mind suddenly racing with dates and times. "No, it's not, it's…" _It was two months ago, you know when you were in a hospital bed losing the baby. Great time to celebrate spending a whole year as a couple._

Soul was reading the words right out of her skull, seeing that familiar flash of pain reflected in her eyes. "Let's just call it close enough." He leaned in again, pressing his cheek to hers and abandoning her hand to embrace her. "And I hope you don't mind me repeating myself, but sometimes it was hard but you always came back to me and I came back to you. And I know it's been so fucking hard and I couldn't do it without you."

"I wish…" Maka started but swallowed it down, feeling the tears threatening.

"Yeah, me, too," he murmured as he tightened his arms around her.

"Thank you." Soul planted a few soft pecks to her cheek as a reply before easing back into the dancing that was more a swaying closeness. It was that until her legs felt tired, her body slowing reminding her that she'd spent all day at school and it was well past her usual bedtime. "Let's go home."

Soul didn't have a quip or an argument, just releasing her to take her hand and lead her back out into the street. He pulled her closer, sharing his warmth again as they made their way back to the apartment through the now mostly empty streets. He was watching her and trying not to get caught which was a feat he was never good at, getting the sideways glances from her with each step. She was only on her own as she walked up the stairs, his hands starting the job of undoing his tie and unbuttoning his collar. By the time they reached the door, he was already half undressed, his clean white t-shirt exposed after taking off the dress shirt entirely.

"Couldn't wait a few more steps?" Maka joked as she fiddled with her keys.

"Just wanted to be ready in case you told me to take my shirt off again," he chuckled softly as his hands planted on her hips. As the door opened he walked her in, tossing the clothes haphazardly to the floor before turning her in his arms. It was what he hadn't had the guts to do the first date: tapping the door closed with his foot as he pressed her against the wall of the hallway, letting the outline of her body fit into his, to read every curve with his own before bringing hungry lips and a searching tongue to hers.

Maka sunk a needing hand into his hair and let him have the control for once, his mouth simply devouring hers. When his lips began to drift down to her jaw before latching on to her neck, Maka used the freedom to let a contented sigh leave her lips. "Not just the shirt, all of it."

He stopped the kisses with a grunt of a laugh, "I swear this wasn't me begging for sex."

Maka's laugh was brighter, more amused than needy. "No, but this is me begging for sex. Take your clothes off, Soul."

He released the press just enough to spin her quickly in the right direction, letting her start a few steps down the hallway to the bedroom. He grasped at the zipper of her dress and tugged with too much gusto, hearing it strain under his fingers.

"Don't break it," she muttered.

"I'll get you a new one," he shot back. "You better get that bra off, too, because if I have to fiddle with it, I'm just going to transform a finger and scythe it off."

Maka laughed back at him but did as ordered, every catch released by the time they entered the bedroom. "He threatens after saying he's not begging for sex."

Soul replied by tipping her dress off her shoulders and she shrugged it the rest of the way off, leaving it in a puddle on the floor along with her bra. Next came her panties and by the time she turned to him, he was equally undressed but left her no time to savor the sight as he grabbed for her, bringing skin back to skin. He buried his face against her neck, alternating kisses with nips as he tasted her. Even with the surging in his veins, Soul tried to slow himself, his breath panting against her ear, "You sure you feel OK?"

"Feel fine," she growled back at him for the interruption.

He pushed her back to the bed, laughing as she simply flopped herself like usual, scooting to make room for his slower climb. "You have a preference?"

Maka tapped her chin in thought, eyeing him. "That backward thing, the day you went for a double."

Soul sat up against the headboard and as she turned herself to straddle his legs he put a hand to her back. "Hold on a sec." He leaned over to the nightstand, opening the drawer and taking out the package that had grown dust for more than five months.

"Oh," Maka murmured as she watched him take out the condom.

Soul was slow to even open it as if the idea of ripping the wrapper was foreign to him. But it was alien, a concept that still didn't completely make sense because sometimes he could still imagine how big she'd be by now, how that swell would have grown and a condom wouldn't have made an ounce of difference.

It had apparently taken too long since Maka sighed gently, turning her body so she could put a hand on his arm. "You OK?"

"Guess I'm… thinking about something Stein said."

"I can't say that thinking about Stein right before you're going to fuck me is comforting." It was the best joke she could make in the face of it, knowing that Soul's conversation with Stein had been more of a lifeline for him recently, a strange father-son replacement.

Soul snorted a laugh. "Just words. Not him. That would be fucking weird." Soul rolled the latex down his shaft. _Give it time, right? Let it be something you want._ "Come here." He pulled her hips back, letting her guide his tip to her opening, toying and teasing him until she finally lowered herself. "Maka," he let it grate against the back of his throat as he filled her.

His hand searched from her hip to her breast, bringing her back closer to his chest. While toying with her nipple, his other hand searched between her legs, finding her core and starting a slow circle with his fingers. "Don't tease me," she murmured.

"Don't want it slow, huh?" he laughed against her shoulder as he bit at it, pinching the skin ever so slightly. She shook her head swiftly as she let out a raspy exhale. Again, an order was an order and Soul gave up on that tantalizingly gradual build that he had planned, transitioning right to moving his hips enough for those grinding strokes that shot the first moan of the evening from her lips. As one hand cupped at her breast again, pinching her nipple between his fingers, the other came into that swift up and down motion against her clit. There was no playing, toying, and Maka had already begun to pant out groans, her legs trembling against him.

"Don't stop," she gasped for air as her fingers dug into the sheets. He would have laughed since the request always seemed so absurd to him as if he ever just planned to get her almost there and quit, but he was too intent on what he felt building inside her, the wave about to crash. Next was one of his favorite sounds, the low, throaty groan that erupted from her before she trailed off into deep breathes, her body leaning further into him. "Thank you."

"Still feeling OK?"

"Better than OK," she murmured happily. "Now, do you have a preference?"

"You stay on top, but turn around," he whispered as closely as he could to her ear. "I want to kiss you."

Maka released him so she could turn, bringing her lips directly to his to fulfill his wish. He rubbed his tip over her again, her sweet little gasp from the sensitivity breaking their kiss just long enough for him to smirk. She eased herself back down onto him to avoid any more of his playing and rolled her hips a few times, latching onto the joy of this feeling again. "It was too long," she sighed across his lips.

"Yeah," he bit back a groan to punctuate that as she started to pick up the pace. Maka leaned forward, planting her hands on the headboard for leverage, hearing it rap against the wall with each stroke. Soul kissed at her neck, running along her collarbone until he could steady her breast to his lips, his tongue circling her nipple through short breaths. His toes started to curl, the muscles of his legs tensing until the groan bubbled from his lips as he pressed his face between her breasts. "Maka…" he kissed at her sternum as his hands moved to her hips, slowing the grind.

Her hands fell from the headboard, touching to his shoulders and then to his cheeks, lifting his face so their lips could meet again. "You're a liar," she whispered with a short laugh.

"Hm?" he was still half dazed as he negotiated through the aftershock of being with her.

She cleared the hair from his forehead so she could plant a kiss there. "Definitely not a bad boyfriend."


	19. Practice

We're getting close to the end (next chapter might be the last?) and I added a time jump just for the sake of finishing this. I hope you're all OK with that.

* * *

Soul tried not to do this, to hold that stupid shirt in his hands but the twinge was decreasing like the dissipation in the ache of a stretched muscle and he only found himself sighing once in the entirety of his visit to the room. He only uttered a second one when he felt Maka's arms wrap around his waist, her fingers patting at his stomach. "How are you?"

"Alive," he murmured. There was no simple answer to that question and his was the most succinct he could come to with the present turmoil still broiling in his head. "You?"

Maka hummed thoughtfully into his back for a moment before sighing out. "Maybe a little better than that." She tapped her fingers against his shirt, weighing her next set of words carefully. "Soul, what are we going to do with this room?"

The air felt thin in his lungs and even though he found himself constantly recounting the conversation with Stein when he was in here his gut still lurched for the same thing. He wanted to deflect, to ask for her opinion first but that would be a no-no, a bad-boyfriend reaction as he now kept trying to remind himself. "Listen, Maka."

"I'm listening." She rested her cheek against his back, hearing the words reverberating through his chest along with his heart.

"I can't tear it down and I can't put any of it away. I need to be able to look at it, to feel it sometimes because I'm not sure I even get it yet, all of it." Soul ran a hand slowly through his hair, "At the same time, I want to fill it. I want to fill it right now even though I know it's not a good idea."

"It's not a good idea," Maka murmured back as her fingers dug into his shirt. "I can't, Soul… I can't do that right now."

"I didn't think so." He leaned forward, gently laying the onesie back on the crib mattress before easing open her fingers. Once she'd let go enough Soul turned, his hands cupping her face. "But you get that I can't let it go?"

"I understand that." Maka bit at her lip before taking a trembling breath. "I just can't… I don't want to feel it again, just yet. Sometimes I still forget that Jack's gone and I think I feel him and it _hurts_."

He freed a hand to smooth through her hair. "I get that, too. But can we… can we just shut the door for a while?"

"Literally or figuratively?" Maka moved her hands to his sides, her fingers burying into his shirt again.

"Both," Soul let out a long sigh. "Just keep it there, ready for when we're ready, when this seems possible again and when it doesn't hurt you."

"Or you," she added. "And what if that never happens? What if it always hurts, Soul?"

"Eventually it has to stop, right?" Soul had never imagined a more terrifying question, especially as the fear blossomed inside him that the answer had to be no. But his normal reasoning started sneaking in, tempering that sudden flare of panic with assurances that they were moving forward. Between date nights and loving, teaching and training, they were inching forward. "It has to, Maka."

She pressed the air between her lips, making an almost comical little squeak. "I guess slowly. So slowly, but OK, yes, Soul, let's just close the door for a while." Maka took a step, slipping out of his grasp and bringing her hands to her hair, running her fingers through it with another aching breath. "But Soul…" A little rasp of frustration broke from her throat. "Soul, I…"

He took a step back, giving her the room to tilt and pace for a second. "Maka, just say it."

"You don't hate me, right?" She blurted quickly, her hands coming to her mouth like she'd just uttered a curse so strong he should be hit into next week.

Soul's eyebrows furrowed, "Don't know why I should."

Her hand came back to her mouth, wiping in vain. "It's stupid because I was the sure one, I pushed you to get over the fear and now I'm standing here drowning in it."

"That's OK." He reached a tentative hand for her, letting his fingers graze her elbow in an effort to bring her back. "Be scared this time. I know you're usually the courageous one, but this time let me do it." There wasn't coaxing, just an eruption as she threw her arms around his neck, the sobs starting as soon as her face was pressed into his shoulder. "I don't hate you for being scared," he murmured in her ear as her shoulders shook with the uneven breaths. "Never hated you for anything, especially not Jack related. If you thought different, get it out of your head."

Maka squeezed him for another breath before releasing enough to clear the tears from her face. She took a few gulping breaths as he joined in to clean her cheeks. "We're OK." She said it more for herself than him, but Soul nodded anyway. "We're going to let the room stay as-is. We're going to wait."

Soul offered her a smile that was far from his smirk, the warm kind without playfulness. "And in the meantime, we're going to love each other."

* * *

"She's working me to death," Soul groaned as he threw himself back in the grass, legs splayed out as if that would cease the ache.

"She has to, you're still shit out there." Black Star slapped a hand to Soul's stomach, laughing as the short '_oof_' erupted from Soul's mouth.

Soul rubbed at the spot before rolling on his side to face Black Star. Another long sigh eased from his lips. "I thought once you hit your mid-twenties you were supposed to _slow down_. She's treating me like I'm still nineteen."

"Yeah, a fucking geezer at twenty-six, that's what you are," Black Star rolled his eyes. "And almost twenty-seven. Did she tell you what she's doing for your birthday?"

"She never does," he sighed again with every effort to sound annoyed. Admitting out loud that he loved the way she always baked that stupid lopsided cake every year and then added some kind of very-Soul-themed surprise at the end of the day would absolutely diminish all of the cool he had left.

"Did you tell her about your lame-ass surprise?" Black Star was halfway to cackling as Soul grimaced at him.

"No, and it's not lame! You just don't have a romantic fucking bone in your body."

"Uh-oh, here comes trouble." Black Star's slap hit paydirt again because Soul was too interested in seeing Maka walk this way to deflect it.

Soul smacked back at him with a soft grunt before scrambling up to sitting just as Maka reached his feet. "I'm tapped out," Soul grumbled.

"Absolutely not." Her hands were on his arm in an instant, pulling him to his feet and back towards the dusty ring.

He heard a snort from Black Star and turned his head to see the cheesy smile, the half-assed wave of good riddance. "Tomorrow's my birthday, doesn't that count for anything?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, I thought, '_My birthday doesn't matter.' 'It's just like every day, Maka.' 'Birthdays are corny anyway.'_" She put on a poor show of mimicking his voice that broke instantly as she started to laugh. "So don't try to use your birthday to get out of practice."

"OK, training is good and all, Maka, but this soul perception practice-"

"It's important!" This was a tone he couldn't decipher, and one she seemed to use every time soul perception came up lately like it was some panicked dire necessity.

"Yeah," he gave into the confusion again, his brow furrowing as he tried to play that voice again in his head. She was awful at keeping secrets and this was one of the few that actually irked him since she was definitely allowed to have them, but this one seemed heavy, strange.

Maka pulled him out to the center of the ring, some of their students meandering around in the corners. When resonating, it was more of an information transfer. Maka could see the souls, grab the important details, and transmit it to Soul, allowing him to formulate whatever attack was necessary. Maka had been toying with this, trying to get him to at the very least see the souls just as well as she could. In the first two years, Soul had managed to get to the hazy blob stage, seeing that they were there but any structure to them was lost. Now, almost seven years after their first date, Soul was just about to the point where he could actually see them take shape.

"OK, five souls on the field," Maka looked around at her students and then focused back on Soul. "Which one's the Grigori?"

"Easy, it's you," Soul prodded at her sternum, eliciting nothing but an eye roll from her.

"In the five souls other than us," she added exasperatedly.

"Fine…" The piano room always seemed so strange when Soul was looking for souls. For him, it wasn't a field like Maka saw, but a soul for each key, a note to be played that kind of started to feed him a little information about each. He started his hands across the keys, searching for the sound of angel wings and finding none. He felt her hands on his shoulders, but even with that, with her clarity, there weren't any of those divinely rare souls like Maka. "None."

"Right," she chirped.

"You tricked me," he grumbled. "And I should have known, Grigori are like one in a million."

"One in fifty million," Maka corrected with a grin. "Do you still see it like piano keys?"

"Yeah," he sighed. "Don't think it's a big deal."

A forlorn sigh broke from her lips. "I thought eventually you would, but I guess it's fine this way. As long as you can see something."

He didn't like it, the tone, that sigh, and he found his hands coming to her hips to pull her closer, regardless of the students' giggles or snickers. "What is it?"

"Nothing," she snapped back quickly before sighing again. "Or something. Give me a little time, OK? I promise, I just… I want you to keep practicing."

"Maka, I don't like this secret, whatever it is," his voice was gruff and his fingers dug slightly into her hips.

This was the strangest turn of all, the way her smile snuck through and her hand softly came to his chest. "Trust me, I think you will."

* * *

Soul would eat the whole cake if he could, not because Maka was some great cook but because of the way her eyes lit up while he was eating it. It was like each cake was her crowning achievement, not the fact that she'd made him into Death's Last Weapon. There was something in the way she could still love the mundane, find excitement in watching him be him, that was better than any birthday surprise she could ever conceive of. He could see her sitting on the excitement though, hands barely contained as she played with the fabric of the couch, scratching at the lines as he chewed slowly. He let the last of the crumbs clear from his mouth before he rested the plate on his knees. "What is it?"

"I think this year's surprise is kind of… well, it's for both of us, I guess." She pressed her cheek against the back of the couch, her eyes alternating between him and the plate when she couldn't take the amused smirk on his face anymore. "Is that OK? I hate to change tradition…"

"Maybe this year we kind of throw it out the window," he laughed, "since I kind of have a surprise for you, too."

"Soul," she groaned.

"Not sorry," he laughed back. "You or me first, then?"

"You," Maka grumbled before snatching the plate from his lap and discarding it on the table. That pouty lip was back as she wrapped her arms around his legs, resting her chin on his knees. "I'm not sure I like this."

"Why?" He resisted the urge to kiss her, leaning back as he curled an eyebrow.

"It's _your_ birthday," she huffed.

"But you apparently did the same thing." His smirk ate up his face and it did nothing but elicit another sigh from her. "But if it makes you feel better the surprise is just you knowing. The thing was something I did for me, anyway."

This piqued her interest, the annoyance starting to trickle away as one hand moved to caress up and down his thigh. "What don't I know?"

He unsettled her slightly as he lifted his butt enough to get his wallet out of his pocket so he could open the well-worn leather folds. With the plastic gripped tightly in his fingers, those digits strategically placed to cover the awful state-mandated picture, he turned the ID towards her.

"You're covering your picture," Maka's complaint morphed into a giggle as the fight to pull the plastic from his grasp started.

"It's awful and that's not the point," he griped as he shook the plastic free of her clutching fingers. "Look at it."

"I am," she spat back. "I'm looking at Soul E-" Maka blinked, eyes finally no longer focused on the annoyance on his face but the fine print next to his fingers. "Soul Albarn."

"Yeah," Soul snatched air into his lungs, prepping for the rehearsed words he'd practiced in his head all week. "I asked you years ago, and then I kind of just went by it at work, with our friends, but I thought maybe it was time to just kind of make it permanent. Official. Like there's no Soul Evans anymore, just the better one, the one that's with you." Her green eyes were just glowing, but she was torturing him, hiding away her smile because she always knew when he wasn't done, but he was taking time to spit it out. "And I know you've been pretty vocal about not needing the marriage part, but I guess I'm doing my yearly check to see if that's still what you want."

"You're legally Soul Albarn?" She let a tiny corner of her smile curl, still holding out on him.

"Yeah, and it was a bitch. Waiting in line, all the useless paperwork, and you don't know how many things you actually have to change." He was holding up fingers, counting them off as her smile continued to grow. As soon as it was blossoming right over his knees, Soul couldn't stop himself from leaning forward, taking a taste of it with his lips. "You still feeling the same way or not?"

"We already are," she lingered in the kiss before sighing sweetly. "Maybe that's not on some legal document somewhere, but we feel like enough of a forever thing, Soul Albarn."

He snorted a laugh as his hand drifted into her hair, "How many times do you think you're going to say that tonight?"

"Enough to drive you crazy, Soul Albarn."

Soul stole one last kiss before leaning back, delighting in the feeling of her golden tresses slipping through his fingers before going through the process of getting his ID back to his wallet. "So?"

"So?" Maka echoed, still beaming at him.

"It's your turn." Soul stayed with his back pressed against the couch, his arms crossing against his chest.

"Right…" Maka nodded her head slowly before running both hands down his thighs. "I think you kind of ruined my whole momentum with your own thing, Soul Albarn."

"Alright, Maka _Albarn_." He caught her hands, stopping the almost a little too pleasurable movement. "Scrap the mental script, then. Just jump in."

She laughed sharply, rolling her face from her chin to her cheek against his knees. "We've been together for a while, Soul. Since we were kids, but even this romantic relationship is edging closer to a decade." There was an extra sparkle to her eyes and he realized it was the tears that were threatening.

"Hey, Maka." He tried to move his hand but she grasped both of them, keeping them in place in his lap.

"It's OK," she sniffled before blowing out a long breath between her lips. "And I don't think I'm wrong when I say we're stronger."

"Yes," his encouragement was almost breathless, especially with all the wandering thoughts of where she was going. _She already said we're not getting married and this would be the weirdest break-up speech…_

For him, there was a conflict raging on her face as she let out a sharp laugh and a wave of tears down her cheeks simultaneously. "So can we try again?"

Soul was too concerned with the tears, forcing her to let at least one of his hands free so he could clear them. "Maka, try what?"

She laughed again, trapping his hand against her cheek. "I want to open the door again, Soul."

His eyebrows furrowed and he almost wished she would have stuck with her script because all he was drawing were blanks. When it finally hit him it was a legendary sock to the gut, worse than anything Black Star had ever given him, and he had to wait to regain the air. "A baby?" was barely a whisper from his lips.

"I know, not a great present, but-"

Soul had moved a thumb over her lips as he took another trembling breath. "You're ready?"

Maka peeled away the finger, freeing her mouth again. "If you are." She continued to pull at the pad of his finger. "And I know we've been using condoms so I kind of stopped my birth control a few months ago. I know I probably should have told you so please don't be mad, but I just wanted to make sure I was sure, you know and-" Maka cut off her rambling as she saw him firmly refusing to cry, knowing that tell-tale sign of the clenched jaw and the quivering swallows. "Soul…"

"It's fine," he croaked before sucking in a breath, still denying the burning in the back of his throat and the swimming in his eyes.

Maka traced the lines of his fingers as they still clung to her face, "So if you wanted to, we could even start trying tonight."

"Tonight," his voice crumbled away with another sigh as his hands both came to clutch at her face.

"Or we could wait," she offered quietly. "I, well, of course," she paused to laugh at herself for a second, "I made a schedule. I read that there's good times to try so I kind of planned out the next few months."

_And I bet it's color-coded, too._ He finally managed a real breath, the tears abated by how absolutely Maka that last sentence was. Soul cleared his throat to shoo away the last of the dregs before managing a weak laugh. "Maka, the last time we got pregnant on birth control, just because of a broken condom."

She smiled softly, playing with her bottom lip with her teeth before whispering, "I guess I'm just worried that because of what happened with Jack, it might be a little harder this time."

"Stein said it'd be no problem," Soul shot back without really thinking about the line, watching as her eyebrows instantly rose.

"You asked Stein about me getting pregnant again?" Maka wasn't sure if she was amused or disturbed.

He coughed out another laugh, "Yeah, but it's not like we discussed it, just a yes or no and he said yes."

"That's comforting, I guess." She bit at her lip again, pausing to let a slow sigh ease out of her. "But we can go as fast or as slow as you want. I made you wait, so I get it if you're still-"

"No," he laughed deliriously. "Tonight. We're starting tonight." Soul barely let the words out of his mouth before he was climbing off the couch. "Come here." He slipped his arms under her, lifting her up.

"Soul," she laughed out his name.

"And then you can show me the color-coded schedule after," he murmured in her ear as he carried her down the hallway, careful not to graze her head against the wall.

"It's not color-coded," Maka huffed.

"Liar," he whispered before planting a kiss on her cheek. Soul let her down right before the bed, forcing himself to take a moment to plant his hands on her hips. "I love you."

"I love you, and, Soul, I promise I'm excited." So excited that her hands were already at the hem of her shirt, throwing it over her head.

"Let me get the rest." He pushed her back on the bed, chuckling as she tossed herself against the sheets. His hands moved to her hips, sliding off her shorts and her underwear in one smooth glide down her legs. "Move up." He motioned her towards the headboard so he could climb onto the end of the bed. As his hands grasped her thighs, he slowly slid them down, parting them as he dipped his head between.

"You don't have to-"

He cut her off with a firm lap of his tongue before almost humming it against her skin, "I want to."

There was no more argument, Maka melting into the bed as his tongue kneaded away at her core. It was insane that she could rewind thirty minutes and see herself chewing-at-her-nails nervous, wondering if all of those old wants had left him. Instead she probably just could have offered him the simple, '_Let's have a baby'_ without any of the agonizing or fanfare and they'd still be right where they were now. Those tumbling thoughts were the only thing keeping her from groaning out his name in that last giant crash of a wave. "Soul, come here."

He only broke for a second, murmuring against her thigh. "Not done."

"Trust me." Maka leaned forward and teasingly tugged at his earlobe. "Come here."

Soul huffed in reply before starting the process of getting his own clothes off, throwing his shirt and struggling to find a smooth way of getting off his shorts and underwear. Maka was waiting for him when he finished, hands pulling him to her as her legs wrapped around him. There was no pausing, just an effortless glide into her as Soul leaned in to nibble at her neck. "You don't usually cum this way," he muttered as he pressed deeper, one of his hands gripping at her hip.

"Tell me when you're close," she whispered back. Her hands moved to his back, clenching into his skin as he continued nipping the skin of her neck between his teeth.

Getting close wasn't a problem, especially spurred by the soft gasps she was supplying right next to his ear, the moaning whispers of his name. He slowed his stroke, trying to ease back on the building tingling sensation. "I'm ready." Maka nodded and pressed a hand to his chest, creating enough space between the two of them that her hand could move down to her clit. Soul's mouth and fingers were amazing in their own ways, but Maka would always know her body. The moment he was back to thrusting, mind now completely lost on holding back, Maka brought herself crashing over the edge. He rode through her moaning cry, feeling her constrict around him while her legs started to loosen with that euphoric weakness.

Before she could recover, Soul let out his own low groan as he collapsed on top of her. "Same time." She patted him on the back as if he was the sole contributor, letting a weak laugh pass her lips.

"Yeah," he panted against her ear before leaving a kiss right under the lobe.

"It's supposed to help." This time it wasn't a pat but a slow glide, starting at his shoulder and trailing down his back.

Soul chuckled softly against her neck before raising his head. "Color-coded and tricks and tips."

"You're mean." She caught his lips quickly before breaking out into a grin. "But, fine, yes, it is color-coded."


	20. Good News

THIS IS IT! YOU MADE IT TO THE END! Mostly because I do not have the stamina to write all of the in-between so I gave you an epilogue happy ending. I hope you don't hate me for it, but I have so many other SoMa fics that I'm running dry on ideas here and I've got writer's fatigue on this.

* * *

There were green, yellow, and red days. Color-coding so simple a toddler could follow it and Soul tried not to stare at it tacked to the fridge as he made his coffee every morning. It was starting to remind him of a chore chart as if he actually had something like that as a kid, but he at least knew the concept. These are words that would never come out of his mouth, and he knew the danger of even letting them come to the forefront of his mind, but, _Death_, maybe this was too much sex! The first month had been exciting, just high on the prospect itself, but by the second month, he was quickly realizing that what before had been an accident was now something closer to _work_.

As it drew closer to the end of month three, he was looking at a green day and withering, thinking about the intense training day, a Saturday punishment for the recent lazy behavior of his weapons class, that had to happen and contemplating how the hell he was going to still be able to move afterward. He had left her in bed, only soft grievances from her following him out the door but a calamity of complaints in his head. As the first set of grueling exercises started, a brisk five mile jog, Soul already started the lag behind, hoping to keep some semblance of energy. By the time the last exercise rolled around, Soul was struggling right along with the rest of them.

Getting back home to her consisted of dragging his feet, his breath barely back to him by the time he walked through the door. He was ecstatic to find her napping, albeit a little jealous, and kept his fingers crossed through his shower that she would remain asleep long enough for him to get clean, get in bed, and get to sleep right next to her. Maka would at least have enough mercy to let him sleep for an hour or two. That worked up until the moment his head hit the pillow, feeling her hand almost instantly clutching into his shirt. "Soul…"

"Your nap's not over." Soul attempted to pull her closer but she was already sitting up, her leg swinging over him to straddle his lap. "Maka, please…"

"I've been waiting for you to come home," she cooed before leaning forward, brushing her lips against his.

"I know," Soul groaned. "It's a green day, but-"

Maka pressed her finger to his lips, "I want to practice."

He let out another exhausted moan, "Maka, I just spent the whole day whipping those idiots into shape."

"Which means you're all warmed up for soul perception." She moved her hands to his chest, patting excitedly. "Let's try the whole floor."

Soul dejectedly put his hands over hers, letting out a withering sigh. "I just have to tell you who's home and then I'm free? I get a nap?"

"Sure," Maka nodded.

"OK," he huffed before closing his eyes, settling into syncing with her immediately. It didn't necessarily feel like the same old resonance, a little zap of her excited electricity lighting up his spine. He was too busy concentrating on getting the job done to really think about that sizzle. "Mrs. Leparz with that stupid dog."

"You see the dog?" Maka giggled.

"Sorta," he muttered back, still deeply focused on the task at hand, the dream of a nap pulling at him.

"Tina…" Soul's concentration faltered, gripping tighter at Maka's hands. "Wait, Tina can be home by herself? She's like ten."

"You can check on her later. Keep going," Maka urged.

"Joel and Kevin…" On the keys, Soul had circled back to him and Maka, seeing the two of them. Maka was her G as always, and he had settled into an F, but it was the F sharp that stopped him. It was hazy and as he stroked the key the sound was almost as weak as the image. "There's somebody else."

"I'm going to lend you a little focus," she cooed as he felt another buzz of energy.

The clarity offered only took his breath away. "It's a Grigori."

"One in fifty million," she whispered back. "A total miracle."

"Who is it?" Soul let the world slowly come back to him, seeing Maka still sitting on top of him but a glowing smile stretching her lips.

"See, I really was hoping you'd start seeing them the way I do, so you could see it settled just perfectly, right here." She took his hands, placing the open palms against her stomach. "It's right here. A perfect Soul and Maka mix. Angel wings with wicked hair," that sentence burst into a laugh from her mouth.

"That was the baby?" His hands searched under her shirt as if he'd suddenly be able to feel it too. "You mean, you are? You're pregnant? And all that fucking practice was so I could _see_ it?"

Maka nodded slowly, letting loose his hands to move against her skin. "That day," she still had to gulp down the last twinge of pain with that memory, "The only good thing I remember from that day was the look on your face when you felt him, Jack, for the first time and I… I thought if you could see this one like I did, it would be even better."

Soul's hands moved from her stomach to her back, pulling her down on top of him. He couldn't stop himself from trailing kisses everywhere there was skin, trying to send some kind of message that his mouth couldn't possibly form. "I want to see it again," he murmured finally, just parting from her lips.

"Maybe tomorrow," she laughed softly. "It kind of tires me out. I told you to keep practicing."

"Everyday." He dug his hands into her hair, pressing her forehead to his. "Thank you."

Maka pecked at his lips before letting a contented sigh rush from her lips. "It was a team effort."

* * *

**EPILOGUE **_(I apologize for being lazy)_

* * *

"You are a monster if you think I'm waking her up again."

Soul's voice may have woken her up, but Maka kept her eyes closed, putting great mental effort into keeping that glowing smile from breaking across her face.

"Shh." While the hush was as soothing as Soul could manage the little squawking cry punctuated it anyway. "Give her another hour, buddy, come on." Another cry, closer to a grumble finished that sentence. It was then that she felt the bed move as his weight rested on it, his voice even softer to her. "Maka, he's making that face."

What was becoming her favorite sight in the world greeted her as she opened her eyes: Soul sitting next to her on the bed, their son fussing in his arms, tiny hands outstretched and waving for attention. "Hungry? Again?"

"Takes after you," he laughed. "Checked everything else, I swear."

Maka raised an eyebrow, "Diaper, burps, everything?"

"He's a bottomless pit." Soul waited while she readjusted, listening to her move since his eyes couldn't stop focusing back on the face of their boy, the not so little but definitely still most perfect thing on the planet: a Grigori soul, a whopping nine and a half pounds at birth, with dark blond wisps of hair and dark eyes that Soul just knew would lighten each day until they were scarlet. While panic and worry was still a primary focus of Soul's thoughts, he did know one thing: their boy was strong, he would make it no matter what.

"Earth to Soul," Maka cooed with her arms outstretched.

Soul laughed sharply before easing the baby into her arms, "Yeah, sorry." As soon as he was safely deposited, Soul rearranged the pillows next to her, letting him sit shoulder to shoulder to watch Maka's strangest new talent.

"Don't you want to sleep?" Maka offered the idea half because she knew Soul desperately needed it but also because watching her breastfeed was still not entirely a comfortable act yet.

"Later," he planted a kiss on her shoulder before letting his eyes fall back to the boy in her arms.

It didn't matter that she was watching him, studying the way his eyes glassed over, his smile threatened to stretch into goofy territory, and his fingers played with the little toes that were kicking next to her arm. "I think I'm jealous," she murmured.

"Huh?" He snapped out of his rose-colored trance, blinking at her. "Jealous?"

"The way you look at him," she laughed softly. "I'm jealous of it. Definitely."

"I look at you that way." He kissed her shoulder again, letting a contented sigh linger on her skin.

"Definitely not," Maka shook her head slowly. "It's super moony, way more in love than I've ever seen you before." And maybe she had started off joking, but that last sentence settled it: she was jealous. Maybe it wasn't the divisive type, but it was a lingering thought.

Soul '_hmphed_' as his eyes climbed from her collarbone to the muscle of her neck to her cheeks to her eyes, finally narrowing when they reached there. He'd _always_ mooned over her. There wasn't a day, an hour, a minute from the moment that their hands met that he wasn't done-for when it came to Maka Albarn. He tossed those thoughts through his brain a few more times, arranging his words carefully as always. "I look at him that way because of you."

A tiny curl of a smile started on her lips. "So it's my fault?"

"No," he let it grumble out like a growl before turning back to the best soothing voice he could offer. "I look at him and it's you and me, probably more you than me in the long run with the blond and his soul being just like yours. It's something we did together, but it's something that you did the heavy lifting in creating. You sacrificed a lot for him, so when I look at him, I see all the things _you_ did for me and for him along the way. So I look at him like that because he reminds me that I love you more than anything."

Maka let out a laugh that still urged one or two tears from her eyes. "That was a good answer," she barely managed between a shuddering breath.

"Cool guy line, as always," he chuckled before tilting his head back down to look at his son. "Don't take that as I don't love you, buddy, but Maka, your mom's special, OK?" Soul waited for some kind of affirmative, taking the swift kick to his hand as enough.

"He's going to start thinking his name is buddy," Maka sighed. "You were very serious about Victor."

"Because he's beaten a lot to get here, it makes sense," Soul turned his eyes back to her. "And he's going to be a strong meister, just like his mom."

"That's what you're betting on?" Maka grinned. "What if he's a demon weapon? More demon weapon blood on my side than meister. Albarn clan, after all."

"Doesn't matter," Soul sighed sweetly, watching his Victor's foot flex as he ran a finger down the heel. "He's going to be the best."


End file.
